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•  J 


Yon  will  take  care  of  me.  father  dear ;  I  dont  feel  afraid 
when  yon  take  hold  of  my  hand. 

(See  p.  17.) 


SABBATH  TALKS 

WITH    LITTLE    CHILDREN, 

ON 

sdms  of     abfo. 


BY    THE    AUTHOR    OP    "THE    MOTHERS    OF    THE    BIBLE 
"  SABBATH    TALKS    ABOUT    JESUS,"    *c. 


'  Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed ; 

At  eve  hold  not  thy  hand ; 
To  doubt  and  fear  give  tliou  no  heed  ; 
Broadcast  it  round  the  land." 

'  Thou  shall  not  toil  in  vain  ; 

Cold,  heat,  and  moist,  and  dry, 
Shall  foster  and  mature  the  grain 
For  garners  in  the  sky." 


FIFTH    THOUSAND. 


BOSTON: 

J.    E.    TIL  TON    AND     COMPANY. 
1860. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 

J.  E.  TILTON  AND  COMPANY, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachuseits. 


PKINTKD  BY 
OEO.    c.    l:.\.\l)    &    AVi;,c.. 


STEREOTYPED    AT    T II K 
UObTON     STEP.JEOTTPK     FOUNDRT 


BV 


CONTENTS. 


PAQI 

EVEN  THE  VERY  HAIRS  OP  YOUR  HEAD  ARE  ALL  NUMBERED.  -  9 

PRESERVE  ME,  0  GOD;  FOR  IN  THEE  DO  I  PUT  MY  TRUST.     -  16 

THE  PRODIGAL  SON. 30 

MY  HEART  SHALL  REJOICE  IN  THY  SALVATION.  ...  42 

DO  ALL  THINGS  WITHOUT  MURMURINGS  AND  DISPUTINGS.  -  62 

I  WILL  SING  UNTO  THE  LORD  AS  LONG  AS  I  LIVE.  -  59 
HOLD  UP  MY  GOINGS  IN  THY  PATHS,  THAT  MY  FOOTSTEPS  SLIP 

NOT. 64 

THE  LORD  IS  MY  ROCK. 70 

THE  EARTH  IS  THE  LORD'S,  AND  THE  FULNESS  THEREOF ;  THE 

WORLD,  AND  THEY  THAT  DWELL  THEREIN.  -  -  -  77 
DELIGHT  THYSELF  ALSO  IN  THE  LORD,  AND  HE  SHALL  GIVE 

THEE  THE   DESIRES  OP  THINE    HEART.  —  REJOICE   IN   THE 

LORD,  YE  RIGHTEOUS. 90 

WAIT  ON  THE  LORD,  AND  KEEP  HIS  WAY.  -  -  -  -  98 
WHETHER  YE  EAT  OR  DRINK,  OR  WHATSOEVER  YE  DO,  DO  ALL 

TO  THE  GLORY  OP  GOD.  ...  -  -  113 

LOVE  SUFFERETU  LONG,  AND  IS  KIND.  -  -  123 

(7) 


622681 


SABBATH    TALKS 
WITH    LITTLE    CHILDREN. 


EVEN  THE  VERY  HAIRS  OF  YOUR  HEAD  ARE  ALL 
NUMBERED.  Luke  xii.  7. 


ive  been  counting  all  the 
hairs  on  this  little  boy's  head  ?  Was  it 
his  father?  Did  he  love  his  little  son  so 
much  that  he  even  counted  all  these  fine 
glossy  hairs,  and  can  tell  just  how  many 
there  are  ?  Go  and  ask  your  father, 
Charles." 

"  Father,  did  you  count  my  hairs  ?    Do 
you  know  how  many  I  have  got  ?  " 

(9) 


10  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

"  No,  my  son ;  I  cannot  possibly  tell." 

"Perhaps  then  it  was  your  mother. 
She  has  taken  care  of  you  ever  since  you 
were  a  tiny  baby.  She  watched  over  you 
when  you  were  sick.  She  loves  you  bet- 
ter, and  knows  more  about  you  than  any 
one  on  earth.  Let  us  ask  her." 

"  Mother,  have  you  ever  counted  the 
hairs  on  my  head?  Somebody  has  — 
was  it  you,  mother  ?  " 

"No,  my  dear  little  boy.  I  can  tell 
how  old  you  are ;  and  how  many  feet  and 
hands  you  have ;  and  how  many  eyes ; 
and  how  many  teeth;  and  I  know  how 
many  aprons  and  stockings  you  have.  I 
have  combed  and  brushed  your  head  a 
great  many  times,  but  I  cannot  possibly 
tell  how  many  hairs  there  are  upon  it." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  11 

"  Who  can  it  be  ?  Perhaps  it  was  your 
sister  Sarah.  Sarah,  have  you  counted 
the  hairs  upon  Charles's  head  ?  You  need 
not  laugh.  Somebody  has  been  counting 
all  his  hairs,  and  we  wish  very  much  to 
know  who  it  can  be.  It  was  not  father 
nor  mother,  and  there  is  nobody  else  who 
cares  enough  for  him,  that  we  can  think 
of,  but  you.  Did  you  do  it  ?  " 

"No,  indeed.  I  love  Charlie  very 
much,  but  I  cannot  tell  how  many  times 
1  kiss  him  in  a  day;  and  I  am  sure  I 
could  not  begin  to  guess  how  many  hairs 
he  has." 

"  It  is  very  strange.  Can  there  be  any 
one  who  knows  more  about  Charles  than 
his  father,  and  mother,  and  sister  ?  Does 
any  one  love  him  better?  Would  any 
one  take  better  care  of  him  ?  " 


12  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

"Yes,  little  boy;  you  have  a  Friend 
better  and  kinder  than  those  who  love 
you  most.  He  is  your  heavenly  Father. 
He  knows  all  about  you,  because  he  made 
you.  He  knows  just  how  many  bones . 
you  have,  and  how  many  veins  run  under 
your  skin ;  and  he  it  is  who  has  num- 
bered your  hairs.  He  loved  you  before 
any  one  else  began  to  love  you,  and  he 
gave  you  kind  parents,  and  a  pleasant 
home,  and  all  the  comforts  you  have.  He 
knows  a  great  deal  more  about  you  than 
your  father  and  mother.  He  can  tell 
how-  many  minutes  you  have  lived,  and 
how  many  more  you  will  live  in  this 
world.  He  knows  all  you  say,  and  all 
the  thoughts  that  are  in  your  heart. 
Your  mother  does  not  know  what  you 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  13 

are  thinking  of,  but  your  heavenly  Father 
does.  He  knows  where  you  will  be  all 
your  life  long,  and  what  you  will  do.  He 
never  forgets  you.  He  takes  care  of  you 
when  you  are  asleep,  and  when  all  are 
asleep  around  you.  He  keeps  you  breath- 
ing. He  enables  you  to  walk,  and  talk, 
and  be  happy.  It  is  his  world  you  live 
in ;  his  sun  that  shines  upon  you ;  his 
moon  that  looks  so  beautiful  to  you ;  and 
they  are  his  stars  that  twinkle  every  night 
above  your  head.  Do  you  see  it  rain  ? 
He  sends  the  rain  to  water  his  flowers. 
Every  thing  you  look  upon  out  of  your 
window  belongs  to  this  good  heavenly 
Father.  He  made  all  the  cattle  upon 
the  hills,  and  the  fish  that  are  in  the  sea. 
The  little  birds  sing  songs  to  him,  because 


14  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

he  makes  them  so  happy,  and  the  brook 

that  babbles  over  the  stones  murmurs 

his  praise." 

"Where  is  my. heavenly  Father?  " 
"  His  home  is  heaven,  but  he  is  in  all 

places." 

"Can  I  see  him?" 

"  No,  but  he  sees  you  always." 

"Can  I  speak  to  him?   and  will  he 

hear  ?    May  I  tell  him  that  I  love  him 

and  thank  him  ?  " 

"  Yes.     He  loves  you,  and  nothing  will 

please  him  so  much  as  that  you  should 

love  him." 

"Will  he  always  take  care  of  me?" 
"  Yes ;  and  if  you  love  him  and  try  to 

please  him,  he  will  take  you  some  time  to 

his  home  in  the  sky,  to  live  forever  there 

with  him." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  15 

"  "Will  he  take  my  father,  and  mother, 

and  sister  Sarah?  " 

"  Yes,  if  they  try  to  please  him." 

"  How  good  he  is !   What  is  his  name  ?  " 

"  His  name  is  God ;  but  when  we  speak 

to  him,  we  call  him  *  Our  Father.' ' 
"  I  will  always  love  him  and  try  to 

obey  him." 


16  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 


PRESERVE    ME,    O    GOD;    FOR  IN   THEE    DO    I    PUT  MY 
TRUST.     Psalm  xvi.  1. 

"  MOTHER,  who  wrote  all  these  beautiful 
psalms  ?  " 

"  Good  men,  my  dear ;  children  of  God, 
who  loved  to  speak  to  him,  and  sing  of 
him,  and  whom  he  taught  how  to  feel, 
and  what  to  say.  David  wrote  many  of 
them.  He  was  one  of  the  best  men  that 
ever  lived." 

"What  did  he  mean  when  he  said, 
'Preserve  me,  0  God;  for  in  thee  do  I 
put  my  trust'?" 

"Do  you  remember  the  little  girl  we 
saw  walking  with  her  father  in  the  woods 
last  week  ?  " 

"  0,  yes,  mother;  wasn't  she  beautiful? " 


LITTLE   CHILDKEN.  17 

"  She  was  a  gentle,  loving  little  thing, 
and  her  father  was  very  kind  to  her.  Do 
you  remember  what  she  said  when  they 
came  to  the  narrow  bridge  over  the 
brook  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  like  to  think  of  that  bridge, 
mother;  it  makes  me  dizzy.  Do  you 
believe  it  is  safe  — just  those  two  timbers 
laid  over,  and  no  railing?  If  she  had 
stepped  a  little  to  one  side,  she  would 
have  fallen  into  the  water." 

"  Do  you  remember  what  she  said  ?  " 

"Yes.  She  stopped  a  minute  as  if  she 
did  not  like  to  go  over,  and  then  how 
sweetly  she  looked  up  in  her  father's 
face,  and  asked  him  to  take  hold  of  her 
hand,  and  said,  '  You  will  take  care  of 
me,  father  dear;  I  don't  feel  afraid  when 


18  SABBATH  TALKS  WITH 

you  take  hold  of  my  hand.'  And  hei 
father  looked  so  lovingly  upon  her,  and 
took  tight  hold  of  her  hand,  as  if  she  was 
very  precious  to  him.  I  don't  wonder  he 
loved  her,  and  took  good  care  of  her  when 
she  asked  him  so  prettily,  and  seemed  to 
feel  so  safe  with  him.  I  wish  I  could  see 
them  again." 

11 1  think  David  felt  like  that  little  girl 
when  he  wrote  the  words  which  you  just 
read." 

"Was  David  going  over  a  bridge, 
mother  ?  " 

"  Not  such  a  bridge  as  the  one  in  the 
woods ;  but  he  had  come  to  some  place 
of  difficulty  in  his  life,  and  whenever  he 
was  in  any  way  troubled,  he  looked  up  to 
God,  just  as  the  little  girl  did  to  her 


LITTLE   CHILDREN.  19 

father,  and  said,  'Preserve  me,  0  God.' 
It  is  the  same  as  if  he  had  said,  '  Please 
take  care  of  me,  my  kind  heavenly  Father 
—  I  do  not  feel  afraid  if  you  take  hold 
of  my  hand." 

"  0  mother,  how  beautiful !  But  God 
did  not  really  take  hold  of  David's  hand 
and  lead  him  through  the  trouble  ?  " 

"  No ;  but  God  loves  his  children  who 
trust  him,  just  as  the  father  did  his  little 
daughter ;  and  though  he  does  not  take 
hold  of  their  hands,  he  knows  how  to 
make  them  feel  as  peaceful  and  easy  as 
if  he  did." 

"  You  say  God  loves  his  children  who 
trust  in  him.  What  does  it  mean  to  trust 
in  him  ?  " 

"  It  means  to  feel  safe  in  his  care." 


20  SABBATH   TALKS    WITH 

"  Does  he  like  to  have  them  trust  him  ?  " 

"  You  just  said  you  did  not  wonder  the 
father  loved  the  little  girl,  because  she 
felt  so  safe  with  him.  God  feels  always 
tenderly  towards  those  who  look  up  to 
him,  and  commit  themselves  to  his  care. 
He  rejoices  that  he  is  able  to  take  care 
of  them,  and  loves  them  more,  the  more 
happy  they  feel  in  his  protection.  He 
looks  down  lovingly  upon  them,  and  puts 
happy  thoughts  into  their  hearts,  and 
takes  away  their  fear,  and  is  glad  that  he 
can  so  comfort  them." 

"Mother,  can  I  be  one  of  God's  chil- 
dren?" 

"  Yes,  my  dear.  If  you  love  him,  and 
trust  him,  and  try  to  please  him,  he  will 
call  you  his  own,  and  lead  you  all  your 
life,  and  make  you  very  happy." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  21 

"  Will  there  be  any  bridges  in  my  life  ? 
I  mean,  shall  I  have  troubles  ?  Now,  I 
do  not  have  any,  do  I?  I  do  not  have  to 
look  up  to  God  and  ask  him  to  take  care 
of  me." 

"Every  body  has  some  troubles,  and 
comes  into  times  of  difficulty  and  danger. 
You  are  a  happy  little  girl,  and  have  a 
good  home,  and  your  father  is  able  to 
supply  your  wants.  But  suppose  he 
should  lose  his  property  and  grow  poor, 
and  could  not  get  you  warm  clothes  and 
good  food,  and  we  should  have  to  leave 
our  pleasant  home.  Then  you  would  be 
in  trouble ;  and  you  would  shed  bitter 
tears;  and  you  would  be  afraid.  Then 
it  would  please  your  heavenly  Father 
very  much  if  you  should  remember  him, 


22  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

and  look  up  to  him,  and  say,  *  Preserve 
ine,  0  God ;  for  in  thee  do  I  put  my 
trust.  Take  care  of  me  now,  my  kind 
heavenly  Father;  I  shall  not  be  afraid 
of  starving  and  suffering  if  you  provide 
for  me.7 

"  Perhaps  no  such  trouble  will  come 
to  you,  but  others  may.  Tour  father 
and  mother  may  leave  you,  and  go  to 
heaven.  Then  you  will  be  in  trouble 
and  very  lonely ;  and  you  will  not  have 
your  parents  to  tell  you  what  is  right; 
and  you  will  be  afraid  to  go  on  the  way 
lest  you  should  mistake  and  do  what 
would  grieve  them,  and  miss  the  road  to 
their  bright  home.  If  then  you  look  up 
with  tearful  eyes  and  say,  'Preserve  me, 
0  God ;  for  in  thee  do  I  put  my  trust 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  23 

—  take  care  of  me  now,  my  heavenly 
Father,  for  I  have  no  other  father,  no 
dear  mother — please  take  care  of  me, 
and  help  me  to  do  right,  and  not  to  be 
afraid,'  —  then  he  will  look  pityingly  and 
lovingly  upon  you,  and  he  will  be  glad 
that  you  trust  in  him ;  and  he  will  com- 
fort you,  and  bless  you,  and  make  you 
happier  than  you  ever  expected  to  be 


a£ain.'; 


"  Dear  mother,  I  hope  no  such  troubles 
will  come  to  me." 

"  Don't  cry,  my  child.  If  it  is  God's 
will,  I  hope  you  will  have  your  pleasant 
home  and  kind  parents  a  great  many 
years  to  come ;  but  it  is  right  that  you 
should  know  where  to  flee  for  comfort 
when  even  the  worst  trials  befall." 


24 

"  I  am  afraid  I  should  not  know  how 
to  trust  iny  heavenly  Father  as  David 
did,  nor  feel  as  safe  with  him  as  the  little 
girl  did  with  her  father." 

"  You  must  pray  God  to  teach  you  this 
trust.  Ask  him  every  day  to  help  you. 
Bead  the  promises  he  has  made  in  the 
Bible,  and  how  kind  he  has  always  been 
to  his  children,  and  so  you  will  learn  to 
love  and '  trust  him,  and  a  delightful 
peace  will  dwell  in  your  heart  and  keep 
you  from  fear. 

"But  you  must  not  think  great  troubles 
are  the  only  ones  we  have  to  meet  with. 
You  will  have  many  small  troubles,  and 
will  need  to  look  to  your  heavenly  Father 
to  take  care  of  you  through  them." 

"  What  troubles  do  you  think  I  shall 
have,  mother?" 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  25 

"  You  liaci  one  this  morning.  Sarah 
was  unkind  to  you,  and  you  were  sadly 
grieved." 

"  Could  I  go  to  God  with  that  trouble  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear;  you  can  tell  him  just 
as  you  would  me  all  your  unhappiness, 
and  ask  him  to  comfort  you  when  earthly 
friends  are  unkind." 

"  And  will  he  hear  me  ?  What  will  he 
do  for  me  ?  " 

"  He  will  help  you  not  to  be  angry  and 
unkind  to  them,  and  he  will  fill  all  your 
heart  with  sweet,  gentle,  loving  thoughts, 
so  that  you  will  almost  forget  your 
trouble." 

"  Mother,  I  think  the  worst  troubles  I 
have  now,  are  when  I  so  often  do  what  I 
ought  not  to  do;  I  am  so  often  angry 


26  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

and  impatient,  and  so  unwilling  to  do 
what  I  am  told ;  and  then  I  feel  so  bad 
and  do  so  wish  I  could  always  do  right. 
But  I  cannot  go  to  God  with  such 
troubles,  for  I  know  he  is  displeased 
with  me  when  I  do  wrong,  and  I  am 
afraid  to  tell  him." 

"  Ah,  that  is  a  great  mistake.  You 
did  not  fear  to  tell  me  the  other  day  that 
you  went  to  Ellen's  after  I  told  you  not, 
though  you  knew  I  should  be  displeased." 

"  0  mother,  dear,  that  is  a  very  differ- 
ent thing.  I  knew  you  would  be  dis- 
pleased ;  but  then  you  love  me  so,  and 
speak  so  kindly  to  me,  and  forgive  me 
when  I  am  sorry,  and  I  love  you  better 
than  ever,  and  think  I  will  never  do  any 
thing  to  trouble  you  again." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  27 

"  Cherish  the  same  feelings  towards 
your  Father  in  heaven,  my  daughter. 
He  loves  you  more  tenderly  than  I  do, 
and  he  is  far  more  ready  to  forgive  than 
any  earthly  being.  He  sees  the  first 
thought  of  sorrow  in  your  heart  when  you 
have  done  wrong,  and  he  pities  you,  and 
will  listen  to  your  feeblest  prayer,  and 
help  you  not  to  do  wrong  again." 

"  Will  he  let  me  tell  him  how  bad  I 
feel,  as  you  do,  and  how  much  I  wish  to 
be  good  ?  " 

"Yes,  and  he  will  forgive  you  for 
Christ's  sake ;  and  you  will  be  a  great 
deal  happier  if  you  tell  him.  Whenever 
you  have  been  angry  again,  go  to  your 
room,  and  kneel  down,  and  tell  him  how 
unhappy  you  are ;  how  evil  feelings  have 


28  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

• 

overcome  you ;  how  weak  you  are ;  and 
ask  him  to  forgive  you,  and  help  you 
never  to  be  angry  again.  Say,  '  Preserve 
me,  0  God,  for  in  thee  do  I  put  my  trust. 
0,  protect  me  in  the  time  of  temptation, 
for  I  am  only  safe  with  thee.'  You  will 
rise  from  your  knees  stronger  than  ever 
before,  and  with  such  a  love  in  your  heart 
toward  your  best  Friend,  that  it  will  keep 
you  from  doing  any  thing  that  could 
grieve  one  so  tender  and  kind." 

"  Mother,  I  am  very  glad  we  read  that 
psalm  this  morning.  I  think  I  love  God 
better  already,  and  I  hope  I  shall  always 
trust  him." 

"I  hope  you  will;  and  if  you  begin 
when  you  are  a  little  girl,  you  will  learn 
better  and  better  about  him,  and  be  far 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  29 

happier  than  those  who  have  no  such 
Friend  to  go  to  in  trouble." 

"Why,  cannot  every  body  go  to  God 
with  their  wants  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  if  they  will ;  but  a  great 
many  people  never  tell  him  their  troubles 
—  never  ask  him  to  forgive  them,  nor  to 
take  care  of  them.  They  did  not  begin 
in  their  childhood,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
learn  this  trust  when  we  are  old." 

"  0,  I  hope  I  shall  learn  it  now,  while 
you  can  help  me,  mother." 


30  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 


THE   PRODIGAL   SON. 

"  WE  will  read  the  story  of  the  Prodigal 
Son  this  morning,  Emily.  It  will  help 
you  to  understand  what  we  were  talking 
about  yesterday.  It  is  in  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  Luke. 

"  A  certain  man  had  two  sons : 
"  And  the  younger  of  them  said  to  his 
father,  Father,  give  me  the  portion  of 
goods  that  falleth  to  me.     And  he  divided 
unto  them  his  living. 

"  And  not  many  days  after,  the  younger 
son  gathered  all  together,  and  took  his 
journey  into  a  far  country,  and  there 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  31 

wasted  his  substance  with  riotous  liv- 
ing. 

"And  when  he  had  spent  all,  there 
arose  a  mighty  famine  in  that  land ;  and 
he  began  to  be  in  want. 

"  And  he  went  and  joined  himself  to  a 
citizen  of  that  country  ;  and  he  sent  him 
into  his  fields  to  feed  swine. 

"And  he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly 
with  the  husks  that  the  swine  did  eat : 
and  no  man  gave  unto  him. 

"  And  when  he  came  to  himself,  he  said, 
How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father's 
have  bread  enough  and  to  spare,  and  I 
perish  with  hunger ! 

"  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and 
will  say  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  heaven,  and  before  thee, 


32  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

"  And  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son :  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired 
servants. 

"  And  he  arose,  and  came  to  his  father. 
But  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his 
father  saw  him,  and  had  compassion,  and 
ran,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him. 

"And  the  son  said  unto  him,  Father,  I 
have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy 
sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son. 

"  But  the  father  said  to  his  servants, 
Bring  forth  the  best  robe,  and  put  it  on 
him ;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and 
shoes  on  his  feet : 

"  And  bring  hither  the  fatted  calf,  and 
kill  it ;  and  let  us  eat  and  be  merry : 

"  For  this  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  33 

again  ;  he  was  lost,  and  is  found.     And 
they  began  to  be  merry." 

"  I  like  to  hear  that  story,  mother.  I 
have  heard  it  before.  Father  read  it  at 
prayers  the  day  you  were  sick  last  week. 
But  I  do  not  know  exactly  what  it 
means." 

"  This  story  is  called  sparable.  Jesus 
told  it  to  his  disciples  to  teach  them 
about  the  love  and  forgiveness  of  God. 
This  man  who  had  the  two  sons  is  like 
God.  God  is  our  Father.  Fathers  love 
their  sons,  and  feel  tenderly  towards 
them,  and  give  them  clothes  and  food, 
and  all  that  they  need,  and  try  to  make 
them  happy.  So  God  does  for  us.  Eve- 

3 


34:  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

ry  day,  —  every  moment,  —  he  is  bestow- 
ing some  good  thing  upon  us. 

"  This  father  had  two  sons,  and  one  of 
them  asked  him  one  day  to  give  him  a 
large  sum  of  money.  The  father  was  too 
kind  to  refuse ;  so  he  gave  it  to  him.  But 
the  son  was  ungrateful  to  his  good  fatKer, 
and  went  away  from  him,  and  lived  in  a 
far  country,  and  wasted  all  his  money, 
and  was  very  foolish  and  wicked.  When 
his  money  was  all  gone,  he  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  His  clothes  were  all  ragged, 
and  he  was  very  hungry,  and  he  had  not 
a  cent  to  buy  any  food.  I  do  not  think 
he  had  any  friends  in  that  far  country,  and 
he  suffered  sadly.  As  he  was  wandering 
round  he  found  a  man  who  had  a  great 
many  pigs,  and  he  said  he  would  be  his 


LITTLE   CHILDREN.  35 

servant.  The  man  sent  him  to  feed  the 
pigs  and  take  care  of  them,  but  he  did 
not  give  him  enough  to  eat,  and  he  was 
so  hungry  that  he  wanted  to  eat  the  pigs' 
food.  Poor,  foolish  boy  I  Now  he  began 
to  think  about  his  home,  and  his  kind 
father,  and  to  be  very  sorry  for  what  he 
had  done.  He  wished  he  was  at  home. 
He  wished  he  had  never  gone  away.  He 
felt  very  wicked  too.  He  had  done  very, 
very  wrong.  At  last  he  thought  he  would 
go  back.  But  how  could  he  ?  His  father, 
he'  thought,  would  be  very  angry  with 
him.  Perhaps  he  would  not  speak  to 
him.  Perhaps  he  would  not  let  him  live 
at  home.  He  looked  at  his  dirty,  ragged 
clothes,  and  thought  how  ungrateful  he 
had  been,  and  he  knew  it  would  be  right 


36  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

if  his  father  did  send  him  away  again. 
Tears  rolled  down  his  face,  and  he  was 
very  miserable,  and  afraid  to  go  back  to 
his  home,  and  yet  he  could  not  bear  to 
stay  among  those  pigs. 

"  At  last  he  got  up  quickly,  and  said, 
1 1  will  go  back  to  my  father.  I  will  tell 
him  how  wicked  I  have  been,  and  how 
unhappy  and  hungry  I  am,  and  ask  him 
to  let  me  live  in  his  kitchen,  and  work 
for  him  as  his  servants  do,  for  I  am  not 
fit  to  be  called  his  son  any  more.'  He 
walked  along  the  road  thinking  how  glad 
he  should  be  to  see  his  home  once  more, 
but  all  the  time  afraid  that  his  father 
would  be  so  displeased  that  he  would  not 
forgive  him. 

"  All  this  time,  while  he  had  been  gone, 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  .  37 

the  poor  father  had  mourned  for  his  un- 
grateful son.  He  had  heard  how  wicked 
he  was,  and  wasteful,  and  he  was  very 
much  displeased.  But  still  he  loved  him 
dearly,  and  wished  he  would  come  back, 
and  repent,  and  do  right,  and  he  pitied 
him  when  he  knew  how  hungry  and  un- 
happy he  must  be. 

"One  day,  as  this  father  stood  in  the 
door  of  his  house,  he  saw  some  one  com- 
ing slowly  along  the  road  a  great  way  off. 
He  looked  earnestly  again  and  again. 
He  thought  it  looked  like  his  dear  son. 
Could  it  be  he  ?  He  walked  to  the  road, 
and  as  the  poor,  miserable  boy  came 
nearer,  with  his  head  hanging  down, 
ashamed  of  his  ragged  clothes,  and  feel- 
ing wretchedly  because  he  had  done  so 


38  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

wrong,  his  father  knew  him.  Do  you 
think  he  turned  round  and  went  into  the 
house,  and  shut  the  door  ?  Do  you  think 
he  said,  'I  don't  wish  to  see  the  bad 
boy ;  he  need  not  come  here '  ?  No. 
He  did  not  even  wait  till  he  got  to  the 
gate,  but  ran  as  fast  as  his  poor  old  limbs 
would  carry  him,  and  put  his  arms 
around  his  neck,  and  held  him  fast  to  his 
breast,  and  kissed  him,  and  loved  him  as 
he  used  to  do  when  he  was  a  little  boy, 
and  climbed  up  to  his  knee. 

"  Then  the  son  said,  '  Father,  I  have 
sinned ; '  and  he  told  him  all  the  wrong 
things  he  had  done,  and  that  he  was  not 
worthy  to  be  called  his  son,  and  asked 
him  to  let  him  live  in  his  kitchen,  and 
work  for  some  bread,  so  that  he  might  not 
starve. 


LITTLE    CHILDEEN.  39 

"  But  the  father  sent  for  some  nice 
clothes  to  put  on  him,  and  had  a  warm 
supper  got,  and  bade  every  body  be  mer- 
ry and  glad  because  he  had  his  dear  child 
home  again,  and  because  he  was  sorry 
for  what  he  had  done,  and  would  never 
do  so  wrong  again." 

"  0,  what  a  beautiful  story,  mother ! 
And  what  a  good  father  that  poor  boy 
had!" 

"  The  Saviour  told  this  story  so  that 
we  might  know  more  about  the  loving 
heart  of  our  heavenly  Father.  He  feels 
towards  us  just  as  that  father  felt  towards 
his  wandering  son.  When  we  forget  him, 
and  do  not  love  him,  and  do  not  pray  to 
him  —  when  we  cherish  evil  feelings  and 
impatient  tempers,  or  are  disobedient  — 


40  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

his  heart  is  grieved.  He  is  afraid  we  shall 
never  come  back  to  him,  and  be  fit  to  live 
in  his  house.  But  as  soon  as  we  begin 
to  be  sorry  —  as  soon  as  we  confess  our 
sins,  and  tell  him  we  mean  to  do  right 
—  then  he  is  ready  to  put  his  arms 
around  us,  and  give  us  all  we  need,  and 
shield  us  from  harm,  and  call  us  his  dear 
children." 

"  Mother,  what  if  the  son  had  been  so 
afraid  of  his  father  that  he  had  not  gone 
home  to  him  ?  " 

"  Then  I  suppose  he  would  have  wan- 
dered round  and  grown  worse  and  worse, 
and  perhaps  have  starved  to  death." 

"  And  suppose  he  had  not  been  sorry, 
or  not  willing  to  tell  his  father  he  was  ? 
0,  I  am  very  glad  he  was  sorry,  for  he 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  41 

would  never  have  been  at  home  and  hap- 
py again  if  he  had  not  felt  so." 

"  It  is  always  good  to  confess  our  sins. 
If  we  have  been  unkind  to  our  compan- 
ions or  friends,  if  we  have  wronged  any 
one,  it  is  always  good  to  confess  it.  It 
makes  them  happier,  and  relieves  our 
own  hearts.  It  is  better  than  all  to  con- 
fess to  God  the  wrong  things  we  have 
done  in  his  sight.  It  takes  a  heavy  bur- 
den from  our  souls,  and  he  sheds  his  own 
love  and  peace  upon  us,  and  we  can  do 
far  better  than  ever  before." 


42  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 


MY    HEART    SHALL    REJOICE    IN   THY    SALVATION. 

Psalm  xiii.  6. 


"  SALVATION  !  That  is  the  same  word  I 
heard  the  minister  say  so  often  yesterday 
in  his  sermon  ;  and  I  have  read  it  a  great 
many  times  in  the  Bible,  and  I  hear  it  in 
Sunday  school.  I  wonder  what  it  means. 
I  will  ask  mother. 

"  Mother,  what  is  Salvation  ?  " 

"  Salvation  is  being  saved  from  some- 
thing, Emily.  But  why  do  you  ask  the 
question  ?  " 

"  Because  I  hear  the  word  so  often, 
mother,  at  meeting  and  at  Sabbath 
school ;  and  here  it  is  in  the  Psalm  you 
told  me  to  read  before  you  went  out. 
*  Being  saved  from  something ' !  What  is 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  43 

i 

it  that  people  are  saved  from?  What 
does  '  rejoice  in  thy  salvation '  mean  ?  " 

"  There  may  be  a  great  many  kinds  of 
salvation ;  salvation  from  sickness,  and 
starving,  and  fire,  and  from  any  thing 
which  we  are  afraid  of,  or  which  troubles 
us.  The  good  man,  who  says,  '  My  heart 
shall  rejoice  in  thy  salvation,'  means  that 
he  takes  delight  in  thinking  of  God's 
salvation." 

"  Is  it  God's  salvation  that  the  minis- 
ter talks  about,  and  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher?" 

"Yes,  my  dear." 

"Please,  mother,  tell  me  what  God 
saves  people  from.  What  is  God's  sal- 
vation ?  " 

"  Salvation  from  sin  and  its  conse- 
quences.'' 


44  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

"  0  mother,  what  hard  words !  Please 
tell  me  all  about  it,  and  make  it  easy." 

"  Do  you  know  that  all  little  girls  and 
boys  sometimes  do  wrong,  Emily  ?  Some- 
times they  are  disobedient ;  sometimes 
impatient  and  angry ;  sometimes  untruth- 
ful ;  sometimes  they  forget  God,  and  neg- 
lect to  pray  to  him,  and  do  not  love  him. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  naughty  spirit  in 
their  hearts,  which  makes  them  wish  not 
to  do  any  thing  right.  They  are  full  of 
naughtiness,  and  do  not  care  to  be  good. 
Did  you  ever  see  any  little  children  who 
felt  so  ?  " 

"  Tes,  mother ;  sometimes  I  feel  so 
myself.  But  you  look  so  sorrowful,  and 
speak  so  kindly  and  gently  to  me,  and 
seem  to  pity  me  so,  that  I  soon  get  over 
it,  and  begin  to  grow  better." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  45 

"  Suppose  you  had  no  one  to  reprove 
you  kindly,  and  teach  you  to  overcome 
such  wrong  feelings  —  do  you  think  you 
should  grow  better  ?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  not." 

"  No,  you  would  grow  worse  and  worse, 
and  instead  of  having  a  naughty  spirit 
once  in  a  while,  it  would  come  at  last  to 
live  all  the  time  in  your  heart,  and  you 
would  be  very  selfish  —  very  impatient 
—  very  unlovely  indeed,  and  very  unlike 
the  Saviour.  Do  you  think  you  should 
be  happy  then  ?  " 

"0  no,  indeed,  mother,  for  I  am  never 
so  miserable  as  when  I  feel  naughty.  I 
don't  love  any  body,  and  I  think  nobody 
loves  me.  I  do  not  like  to  pray,  and  I 
say  to  myself,  *  I  will  not  try  to  do  right,' 


46  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

and  I  want  to  cry  more  than  at  any 
other  time." 

"  This  naughtiness  is  called  sin.  It  is 
a  bitter  and  an  evil  thing.  When  we 
allow  it  to  grow  in  our  hearts  it  prevents 
us  from  loving  God,  our  heavenly  Father; 
and  if  we  are  not  saved  from  it  we  can 
never  be  happy,  nor  live  in  heaven,  for 
there  is  no  sin  there." 

"  I  did  not  know  it  was  such  a  bad 
thing  to  be  naughty." 

"Naughtiness  is  the  worst  thing  in 
the  world,  and  makes  the  most  trouble. 
To  be  sick,  or  hungry,  or  cold,  would  not 
be  half  so  bad.  To  have  no  friends,  and 
no  home,  and  no  clothes,  would  not  be  so 
bad  as  to  be  sinful  all  the  time,  and  to 
have  it  growing  in  us.  I  cannot  think 


LITTLE    CH1LDKEN.  47 

of  any  thing  which  I  wish  so  much  to  be 
saved  from  as  a  sinful  spirit.  I  think  I 
would  be  willing  to  be  lame,  and  blind, 
and  hungry,  or  to  suffer  any  pain,  if  there 
was  no  other  way  to  cure  me." 

"  Dear  mother,  it  makes  me  feel  dread- 
fully  to  see  you  cry.  The  tears  are  roll- 
ing off  your  face.  You  are  not  naughty, 
mother." 

"Yes,  my  precious  child,  the  same 
evil  feelings  that  come  up  in  your  little 
heart  are  often  in  mine.  When  I  was  a 
child  I  felt  them,  and  they  are  not  cured 
yet.  I  am  often  selfish  and  unloving  ;  I 
grieve  my  Saviour,  and  do  not  obey  my 
heavenly  Father,  and  am  unhappy  be- 
cause I  am  sinful.  I  have  shed  many, 
many  bitter  tears  for  this,  more  than  I 


48  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

ever  did  for  any  thing  else.  But  I  know 
it  will  not  be  always  so.  I  know  my 
heart  will  rejoice  in  God's  salvation  by 
and  by.  I  shall  some  day  be  perfectly 
good,  and  holy,  and  pure,  just  like  the 
blessed  Saviour,  and  never  have  another 
wrong  feeling  forever." 

"  That  will  be  when  you  are  in  heaven, 
mother." 

"Yes,  my  child.  There  we  shall  see 
his  face,  and  never,  never  sin." 

"  Shall  I  be  there,  mother  ?  " 

"  Tes,  if  you  strive  constantly  against 
naughtiness,  and  are  sorry  for  it,  and 
pray  every  day  for  God's  salvation.  He 
has  said  he  will  surely  hear  such  prayers, 
and  that  if  we  confess  our  sins  he  will 
'  forgive  us,  and  cleanse  us  from  all  un- 


LITTLE    CHILDKEN.  49 

righteousness.'  And  there  is  another 
beautiful  promise:  'Blessed  are  they 
that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness, for  they  shall  be  filled.'  " 

"How  will  Jesus  save  us  from  sin? 
When  I  have  been  naughty,  and  you  have 
talked  with  me,  and  prayed  for  me,  and 
I  feel  sorry,  then  I  think  I  shall  never  do 
so  or  feel  so  again.  But  I  do.  Perhaps 
the  very  next  day  I  have  the  same  wicked 
feelings  again,  and  I  am  afraid  it  will  be 
always  so,  and  that  they  will  always  keep 
coming  back." 

"So  they, would  if  we  had  no  heavenly 
Father,  no  kind  Jesus,  to  save  us  from 
them.  It  was  for  this  that  Jesus  left 
heaven,  and  suffered  so  much,  and  died 
upon  the  cross.  You  cannot  understand 

4 


50  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

all  about  it  now,  but  you  can  understand 
and  remember  that  nothing  is  so  much 
to  be  feared  and  fought  against  as  sin  ; 
nothing  is  so  precious,  and  blessed,  and 
delightful,  as  to  be  saved  from  doing  and 
feeling  wrong,  and  that  we  have  no  friend 
who  loves  us  so  well,  or  whom  we  ought 
to  love  so  much,  as  Him  who  gives  us 
this  salvation." 

•  "  Mother,  the  next  time  I  feel  naughty, 
what  shall  I  do?" 

"  Kemember  that  your  heavenly  Father 
and  Saviour  are  trying  to  cure  you  of  all 
wrong  feelings,  and  make  you  like  the 
holy  little  children  in  heaven,  and  do  all 
you  can  to  help  cure  yourself.  Go  to 
your  room,  and  on  your  knees  ask  the 
Lord  to  make  you  sorry,  and  help  you. 


LITTLE   CHILDREN.  51 

Ask  him  to  forgive  you,  for  Jesus'  sake, 
and  to  put  better  feelings  within  you. 
Then  say,  '  Begone,  bad  thoughts ;  I  am 
resolved  to  feel  right  and  do  right.'  Make 
a  pleasant  look  come  to  your  face.  Make 
your  tongue  speak  gently  and  lovingly. 
Do  cheerfully  whatever  you  are  bidden, 
and  strive  against  every  evil  thought.  It 
will  be  easier  to  do  this  every  time  you 
try,  and  you  will  find  yourself  growing 
stronger  and  stronger.  You  will  love 
God  better,  and  all  around  you,  and  your 
happiness  will  be  growing  like  the  hap- 
piness of  heaven." 


52  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 


DO  ALL  THINGS  WITHOUT  MURMURINGS  AND 
DISPUTINGS. 

"  PUT  on  your  thick  sack  when  you  go 
out  this  morning,  Mary ;  it  is  cold." 

"  0,  dear,  I  don't  like  that  sack.  It 
is  not  pretty,  and  it  does  not  feel  com- 
fortable. Mayn't  I  put  on  the  yellow 
one  ?  " 

"  No,  my  child ;  the  yellow  one  is  not 
warm  enough." 

"  Now,  mother,  please  let  me  put  on  my 
red  cape ;  that  is  warm." 

"  Do  as  I  bid  you,  Mary.  Put  on  your 
thick  sack,  and  do  not  trouble  me  any 
more." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  53 

"  0,  dear ;  I  wish  that  thick  sack  had 
never  been  made !  I  always  have  to 
wear  it,  and  it  is  an  ugly  thing." 

I  think  Mary  has  never  learned  this 
good  Bible  verse.  Go,  Mary,  .and  learn 
it  now.  "Do  all  things  without  mur- 
murings  and  disputings."  If  you  will 
learn  and  obey  it  you  will  be  a  much 
happier  little  girl,  and  I  am  sure  your 
mother  will  rejoice.  Nothing  is  more 
unpleasant  than  to  hear  little  children 
fretting  and  murmuring  about  what  they 
are  directed  to  do ;  and  it  is  sinful  too. 
God  has  forbidden  it. 

"  George,  I  want  you  to  do  an  errand 
for  me.  Get  your  hat  and  boots,  and  be 
ready  by  the  time  I  have  this  note 
written." 


54  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

a  0  mother,  I'm  just  in  the  midst  of  a 
beautiful  story!  Do  let  me  wait  till  I 
have  finished  it." 

"I  cannot  wait  a  moment,  my  son. 
Lay  down  your  book,  and  go  and  come 
as  soon  as  you  can.  Then  you  may 
finish  the  story." 

"  It  looks  like  rain.     I  shall  get  wet." 

"  Take  an  umbrella,  and  walk  quick ; 
the  rain  will  not  hurt  you." 

"  I  don't  like  to  go  alone.  May  I  go 
and  ask  Willie  to  go  with  me  ?  " 

"No,  George,  I  am  in  haste  for  this 
medicine,  and  cannot  wait  while  you  go 
for  Willie.  Don't  be  so  slow.  Let  me 
see  you  move  as  if  you  wished  to  please 
your  mother." 

"  I  am  tired  ;  I  can't  move  quick,  and 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  55 

I  don't  like  to  do  errands.     I  wish  you 
would  hire  a  boy  to  do  them." 

George's  mother  feels  very  bad.  I  see 
tears  in  her  eyes.  The  baby  is  sick,  and 
she  wants  his  medicine,  and  her  heart  is 
grieved  at  seeing  George  so  unwilling  to. 
please  her.  If  this  little  boy  could  learn 
to  "do  all  things  without  murmurings 
and  disputings,"  how  much  better  it 
would  be !  He  could  almost  have  gone 
to  the  apothecary  and  back  while  he  was 
speaking  all  those  fretful  words ;  and  then 
his  errand  would  have  been  done,  and  he 
could  have  finished  his  story,  and  not 
have  grieved  his  kind  mother.  • 

God  has  given  us  a  great  many  direc- 
tions in  his  word,  and  we  always  find 
that  obeying  them  makes  us  very  happy. 


56  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

This  that  I  have  been  talking  about  is 
one  of  them.  Try  it  a  week,  little  boys 
and  girls.  "  Do  all  things  without  mur- 
murings  and  disputings."  Go  the  mo- 
ment you  are  sent,  and  do  exactly  what 
you  are  bidden,  without  a  word  of  objec- 
tion, and  see  if  you  are  not  far  happier 
than  when  you  fret. 


Have  you  stood  on  some  beach  by  the  ocean  and  listened  to 
the  unceasing  sound  of  waves  P 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  59 


I  WILL  SING  UNTO  THE  LORD  AS  LONG  AS   I  LIVE. 

Psalm  civ.  33. 


HAVE  you  stood  on  some  beach  by  the 
ocean  and  listened  to. the  unceasing  sound 
of  waves  ?  The  sea  is  never  quiet. 
Sometimes  its  waters  roll,  and  dash,  and 
roar  upon  the  sands,  and  sometimes  they 
come  gently  in,  only  whispering  along 
the  shore.  But  they  are  never  quiet. 
All  day,  and  all  night,  the  ocean  sings  its 
solemn  hymn  of  praise  to  its  Creator. 
Some  one  has  called  it  "the  deep,  eternal 
bass  of  Nature's  anthem." 

Have  you  ever  risen,  in  the  summer 


60  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

time,  with  the  first  morning  light,  and 
listened  to  the  countless  voices  of  birds  ? 
The  air  is  filled  with  music.  It  seems  as 
if  each  little  throat  was  trying  to  titter 
its  loudest,  sweetest  note.  They  have 
just  awakened  from  their  night's  long 
sleep,  and  they  are  singing  their  morning 
hymn  to  the  God  who  made  them. 

Or  have  you  been  out  in  the  still  even- 
ing time?  Men  have  gone  to  their 
homes,  and  all  things  are  hushed  to  the 
repose  of  night  —  all  but  the  thousands 
of  insects,  which,  before  they  close  their 
eyes,  are  chirping  their  evening  song  of 
gratitude  to  Him  who  painted  the  but- 
terfly's wing,  and  who  supplies  the  wants 
of  the  smallest  creature  he  has  made. 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  61 

Have  you  lifted  up  your  eyes  on  a 
frosty  night  in  winter,  and  seen  the 
bright  stars  over  your  head  ?  They,  too, 
are  singing  in  solemn  tones  their  Maker's 
praise.  Let  me  read  you  a  beautiful 
hymn  about  this. 

"  The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue,  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim. 
The  unwearied  sun,  from  day  to  day, 
Does  his  Creator's  power  display, 
And  publishes  to  every  land 
The  work  of  an  Almighty  hand. 

"  Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail, 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale, 
And  nightly  to  the  listening  earth 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth  ; 


62  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

While  all  the  stars  that  round  her  burn, 
And  all  the  planets  in  their  turn, 
Confirm  the  tidings  as  they  roll, 
And  spread  the  truth  from  pole  to  pole. 

"  What  though  in  solemn  silence  all 
Move  round  this  dark,  terrestrial  ball,  — 
What  though  no  real  voice  nor  sound 
Among  those  radiant  orbs  be  found  ?  — 
In  Reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  for.th  a  glorious  voice, 
Forever  singing,  as  they  shine, 
The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine." 


What  then  ?    If  all  things  praise  the 
Lord,  what  shall  little  children  do  ? 

David  says,  "I  will  sing  unto  the 
Lord  as  long  as  I  live."  Do  you  say 
this,  too,  little  child?  In  the  morning, 
when  you  rise,  sing  some  hymn  of  praise 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  63 

to  your  heavenly  Father.  Sing  to  him 
in  the  day,  and  before  you  sleep  at  night. 
Sing  to  him  in  your  heart.  Let  sweet, 
and  pleasant,  and  loving  thoughts  be 
always  going  up  to  Him  who  loves  and 
cares  for  you.  Say,  "I  will  sing  unto 
the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live!" 


64:  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 


HOLD  UP  MY  GOINGS  IN  THY  PATHS,  THAT  MY  FOOT- 
STEPS SUP  NOT.     Psalm  xvii.  6. 

THIS  is  a  prayer,  Fanny.  If  it  was 
winter,  and  the  paths  were  full  of  ice, 
you  would  find  it  difficult  to  walk,  and 
you  would  be  glad  to  take  hold  of  your 
father's  hand,  and  would  beg  him  to  hold 
you  up.  Perhaps  in  some  places  you 
could  go  alone  very  well,  but  every  few 
steps  you  would  fall  unless  he  was  with 
you. 

Life  is  a  slippery  path,  in  which  we 
are  all  walking,  hoping  to  reach  heaven 
at  last ;  and  very  often  we  must  ask  God, 
"  Hold  up  my  goings  in  thy  paths,  that 
my  footsteps  slip  not."  We  are  trying  to 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  65 

do  right  —  to  grow  like  Jesus,  and  to 
please  God ;  but  very  often  we  are  tempt- 
ed to  do  wrong,  and  if  God  is  not  near  to 
help  us  v/e  shall  slide  into  sin. 

Little  George  has  broken  his  mother's 
beautiful  blue  pitcher.  He  did  not  in- 
tend to  do  it.  It  slipped  from  his  fingers 
while  he  was  looking  at  it.  George 
stands  there  very  sorrowful.  He  hears 
his  mother  coming.  What  will  he  do  ? 
At  first  he  thinks  he  will  go  out  at  the 
entry  door  and  run  away.  Then  he  thinks 
he  will  say  the  pussy  broke  it.  He 
knows  how  wicked  that  would  be,  but  he 
feels  very  bad  to  have  his  mother  know 
that  he  did  it.  George  has  come  to  a 
very  slippery  place  in  his  path.  If  God 
is  not  near  to  help  him  he  will  slide  into 

5 


66  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

a  great  sin.  He  will  speak  that  which  is 
not  true.  George  must  pray  in  his  heart 
to  his  heavenly  Father,  "  Hold  up  my 
goings  in  thy  paths,  that  my  footsteps 
slip  not.  Help  me,  0  help  me  not  to 
sin!" 

Tour  mother  permits  you  to  go  and 
spend  an  hour  with  Mary,  and  tells  you 
then  to  come  directly  home.  You  like  to 
play  with  Mary,  and  you  run  joyfully 
away  to  her  house  and  play  merrily  till 
the  hour  is  past.  Then  you  get  your 
bonnet  to  go  home,  but  Mary  says,  "  Don't 
go  yet.  I  am  going  to  walk.  Do  go  with 
me  a  little  way.  Your  mother  will  not 
care.  I  will  tell  her  when  we  come  back 
that  I  asked  you." 


LITTLE   CHILDREN.  67 

You  want  to  go  to  walk  very  much, 
but  you  know  it  will  be  wrong.  You 
stop  and  think,  and  wish  your  mother 
was  not  so  particular,  and  wish  you  were 
old  enough  to  do  as  you  please,  and  you 
begin  to  feel  very  bad.  A  naughty  spirit 
is  rising  in  your  heart.  You  have  come 
to  a  slippery  place  in  your  path.  If  you 
are  not  careful  you  will  fall.  If  God  does 
not  put  a  better  thought  within  you,  you 
will  disobey  and  grieve  your  mother,  and 
displease  him.  Pray  earnestly,  "  Hold  up 
my  goings  in  thy  paths."  You  need  not 
speak  a  word  with  your  lips,  but  you  can 
lift  up  your  thoughts  to  him,  and  he  will 
take  you  by  the  hand,  and  keep  you  from 
sliding  into  that  sin  of  disobedience,  and 
you  will  say,  "No,  Mary,  I  must  mind  my 


68  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

mother ; "  and  you  will  go  happily  to 
your  home,  and  kiss  your  mother  with 
tearful  eyes,  and  be  glad  you  had  a  heav- 
enly Father  to  keep  you  from  evil. 

You  are  taught  that  it  is  your  duty  to 
read  your  Bible  and  pray  daily.  You  go 
to  your  little  room  every  morning  to  do 
this.  But  sometimes  you  think,  as  you 
are  going,  of  dolly,  and  wish  you  could 
play  with  her  a  while  first ;  or  you  want 
to  go  out  for  a  run  in  the  garden ;  or 
Emily  has  come  to  see  you,  and  is  waiting 
for  you  in  the  nursery ;  and  you  think 
you  will  not  read  your  Bible  this  morning. 
You  would  rather  do  something  else,  and 
you  start  to  go  out  of  your  room.  This  is 
a  slippery  place.  No  one  can  be  safe  or 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  69 

happy  without  praying  and  reading  God's 
word  daily.  He  bids  us  all  do  this,  and 
we  sin  when  we  neglect  it.  His  eye  sees 
you  standing  by  the  door.  Go  back,  and 
kneel  down,  and  pray,  "  Hold  up  my  go- 
ings in  thy  paths,  that  my  footsteps  slip 
not."  He  will  hear  you,  and  help  you  to 
do  right,  and  will  not  let  you  slide  into 
this  wrong  thing. 

Every  day  little  children  and  grown 
people  have  need  to  say  this  prayer,  for 
only  God  can  keep  us  from  sin. 


70  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 


THE  LORD  IS  MY  ROCK.      Psalm  xviii.  2. 

When  we  go  to  Gloucester,  we  bathe 
every  day  in  the  ocean.  It  is  very  re- 
freshing on  a  warm  day  to  go  into  the 
cool  salt  water.  There  are  some  rocks  in 
the  water  at  our  bathing  place,  and  some 
of  the  people  wish  they  were  away.  But 
we  have  found  them  very  useful.  "When 
the  weather  is  pleasant  the  water  is  very 
smooth  there,  but  sometimes  after  a  storm 
the  waves  come  rolling  in  so  furiously 
that  we  could  not  stand  on  our  feet,  nor 
be  safe  a  moment,  if  it  were  not  for  the 
rocks.  We  hold  fast  to  them,  and  the 
sea  dashes  upon  us,  but  it  cannot  carry 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  71 

us  away.  The  rocks  are  always  there. 
The  water  comes  and  goes.  Sometimes 
it  is  high  tide,  and  sometimes  it  is  low 
tide.  Sometimes  they  are  covered  so  that 
we  can  only  see  the  tops  of  them,  and 
sometimes  they  are  quite  bare  and  dry. 
But  they  never  move,  and  when  we  want 
them  they  are  always  there.  I  like  those 
rocks.  I  think  I  should  have  been  car- 
ried away  into  the  sea  and  been  drowned 
if  it  had  not  been  for  them. 

David  calls  God  a  rock,  little  children. 
Do  you  know  why?  Because  we  can 
cling  to  him  when  we  are  in  trouble,  and 
be  safe.  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.  Sometimes  I  have  been  very 
sick,  and  did  not  know  but  I  should  die. 


72  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

I  did  not  know  what  great  pain  I  might 
have  to  suffer.  I  did  not  know  but  I 
should  have  to  lie  years  in  my  bed,  and 
never  walk  upon  the  green  earth  any 
more.  Sickness  is  a  great  trouble.  It 
seems  like  the  waves  of  the  sea  coming 
up  to  carry  away  all  our  happiness  and 
comfort.  God  is  our  rock  when  we  are 
sick.  We  must  cling  to  him.  He  will 
save  us.  We  must  pray  to  him,  and 
think  of  him,  and  love  him,  and  trust 
him,  and  he  will  perhaps  make  us  well, 
or  if  not,  he  will  comfort  us  and  give  us 
patience  in  our  sickness,  so  that  it  shall 
not  destroy  all  our  peace.  Learn  to  say, 
"The  Lord  is  my  rock."  You  will  be 
glad  when  sickness  comes. 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  73 

I  have  seen  sad  days  when  my  friends 
died.  They  closed  their  eyes,  and  went 
away  where  I  saw  them  no  more.  I  was 
glad  to  have  them  go  to  Jesus  and  be 
happy,  but  I  was  very  sad  without  them. 
I  felt  afraid,  too.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
great  waves  of  the  sea  were  coming  up  to 
carry  away  all  I  loved,  and  leave  me 
alone.  Bitter  thoughts  were  in  my  heart. 
But  in  that  time  of  trouble  God  was  my 
rock.  I  clung  to  him.  God,  our  heav- 
enly Father,  never  dies.  His  eyes  never 
close.  He  always  looks  kindly  upon  us. 
He  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  us.  He 
is  like  a  rock.  If  the  waves  of  trouble 
roll,  and  almost  hide  him  from  our  sight, 
he  is  still  there.  We  can  hold  him  fast 
in  our  hearts.  Sometimes  we  have 


74  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

friends,  and  sometimes  they  leave  us ; 
but  we  always  have  God. 

I  have  seen  times  when  I  felt  very  un- 
happy, I  hardly  knew  why.  I  was  tired 
of  my  work,  and  tired  of  my  books,  and 
tired  of  my  companions.  The  world  did 
not  seem  a  pleasant  world.  The  sun- 
shine did  not  look  bright,  nor  the  song 
of  the  birds  sound  pleasant.  I  felt  as  if 
the  great  roaring  waves  of  the  sea  had 
swallowed  me  up,  and  there  was  nothing 
above  or  around  me  but  the  briny  ocean. 
I  felt  afraid,  too.  I  knew  I  had  done 
many  things  which  were  displeasing  to 
God.  I  had  forgotten  him  a  great  many 
times.  I  had  not  loved  him  as  I  ought. 
Sometimes  I  had  neglected  to  pray  to 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  75 

him,  and  I  had  not  tried  every  day  to 
please  him,  but  only  to  please  myself. 
I  was  afraid  he  would  not  take  me  to 
heaven — afraid  I  should  never  be  like 
the  holy  ones  there,  and  I  shed  bitter 
tears,  and  was  in  deep,  deep  trouble. 

But  the  Lord  was  my  rock  then  also. 
I  knelt  on  my  knees  and  confessed  my 
sinfulness.  I  told  him  I  knew  I  had 
done  wrong,  and  was  often  doing  wrong. 
I  asked  him  to  forgive  me  for  Jesus'  sake, 
and  begged  him  to  love  me  and  save  me, 
and  teach  me  to  love  him.  And  he  heard 
my  prayer.  He  sent  a  sweet  peace  into 
my  soul.  I  felt  as  if  I  should  always  love 
him,  and  live  to  please  him.  I  clung  to 
him,  and  the  waves  did  not  carry  me 
away  Then  the  sunshine  was  bright 


SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 


again,  and  my  comforts  returned,  and  I 
was  very  happy.  Always,  as  long  as  I 
live,  I  will  love  the  Lord  my  rock. 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  77 


THE  EARTH  IS  THE  LORD'S,  AND  THE  FULNESS  THERE- 
OF ;   THE  WORLD,  AND  THEY  THAT  DWELL  THEREIN. 

"  MOTHER,  do  you  know  who  is  the 
richest  man  in  this  town  ?  " 

"  No,  my  son." 

"  I  do.  I  heard  father  telling  a  gen- 
tleman the  other  day  that  Mr.  B 

owned  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  and 

was  the  richest  man  in  all  W .  Do 

you  know  Mr.  B ,  mother  ?  " 

"Yes,  my  dear,  I  know  him  very 
well." 

"  I  wish  I  did." 

"  "Why  do  you  wish  to  know  him,  Wil- 
lie ?  Because  he  is  rich  ?  " 

"Yes,  mother;  I  am  sure  it  must  be 


78  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

a  good  thing  to  know  rich  men,  for  every 
body  speaks  of  them  with  respect.  Do 
you  think  I  shall  ever  be  rich  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell,  my  son ;  but  let  me 
ask  you   some  questions.     Who  do  you 

suppose  owned  Mr.  B 's  land  before 

he  did?" 

"  I  don't  know,  mother ;  perhaps  his 
father  did." 

"  And  who  owned  it  before  his  father  ?  " 
"  I  suppose  his  grandfather." 
"And    to    whom    do    you    think    it 
belonged    before    Columbus    discovered 
America,  when  it  was  all  covered  with 
woods  ?  " 

"  Why,  it  belonged  to  nobody  then." 
"  Who  do  you  think  made  that  land, 
Willie  ?  " 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  79 

"  I  suppose  God  made  it,  mother,  when 
he  made  the  rest  of  the  world." 

"And  if  a  person  makes  a  thing,  to 
whom  does  it  belong?  If  you  make  a 
kite,  whose  is  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  mine,  unless  I  choose  to  give  it 
away." 

"  Who  owns  all  the  land  in  the  world 
then,  Willie,  and  who  is  the  richest  per- 
son ?  " 

"  You  mean  God,  mother ;  but  I  never 
thought  of  that  before,  and  I  never  heard 
any  body  call  God  rich.  But  if  the  land 
is  all  his,  why  do  men  have  it,  and  call  it 
theirs  ?  " 

"  God  allows  them  to  use  his  land 
while  they  live  in  this  world,  and  to  call 
it  their  own ;  but  it  does  not  really  belong 


80  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

to  them,  and  they  cannot  take  it  away 
with  them  when  they  die." 

"  Then  I  do  not  think  it  is  such  a  good 
thing  to  be  called  rich,  if  we  can  only  be 
so  a  little  while.  But,  mother,  some  men 
have  plenty  of  money,  and  that  must  be 
their  own.'7 

" '  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the 
fulness  thereof,'  David  says;  and  God 
says,  in  another  place,  'The  silver  and 
the  gold  are  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a 
thousand  hills.'  God  made  all  the  pre- 
cious things  that  are  hidden  in  the  earth, 
and  they  are  all  his.  No  man  has  any 
thing  but  what  God  gives  him." 

"  Then  why  do  men  think  so  much  of 
their  money  and  their  land  ?  and  why  do 
some  rich  people  feel  as  if  they  were  bet- 
ter than  poor  people  ?  " 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  81 

"Because  they  forget  that  all  they 
have  belongs  to  God,  and  that  they  must 
leave  it  here  for  somebody  else  when  they 
go  away." 

"But,  mother,  if  all  the  land  and  all 
the  money  belongs  to  God,  why  does  he 
give  more  to  some  men  than  he  does  to 
others  ?  " 

"  God  does  not  think  riches  the  best 
thing  in  this  world.  If  he  gives  one  man 
money  and  another  a  loving  heart  and 
holy  temper,  he  thinks  the  poor  man  has 
the  best  things." 

"But  every  body  must  have  some 
money,  or  starve." 

"  Yes,  and  God  has  promised  that  not 
one  of  his  children,  who  love  and  trust 
him,  Shall  starve.  All  the  food  in  the 

6 


82  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

world  is  his,  and  they  have  only  to  ask 
him  if  they  are  in  need." 

"If  I  was  hungry,  and  had  no  money 
to  get  bread,  and  no  friend  to  get  it  for 
me,  would  God  give  me  some  ?  " 
"Yes,  if  you  prayed  to  him  for  it." 
"  Would  he  send  it  from  heaven  ?  " 
"  No ;  but  he  would  send  some  of  his 
children  to  bring  it  to  you,  for  the  people 
in  the  world  belong  to  him  as  well  as  the 
riches.     *  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the 
fulness  thereof ;  the  world,  and  they  that 
dwell  therein.' ' 

11  Does  God  send  people  where  he 
pleases  ? " 

"  Yes ;  and  when  he  thinks  it  best  he 
gives  them  money,  and  when  he  thinks 
it  best  he  takes  it  away." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  83 

"  Is  a  poor  man  just  as  good  as  a  rich 
man,  mother?" 

"If  he  loves  God  he  is  just  as  good, 
and  he  is  far  better  than  the  rich  man 
who  does  not  love  God." 

"  What  good  is  there  then  in  being 
rich?" 

"  If  we  are  rich  we  can  do  a  great  deal 
of  good.  We  can  aid  the  poor,  and  en- 
courage the  industrious,  and  if  we  try  to 
please  God  he  will  show  us  a  great  many 
ways  to  be  useful,  and  to  make  a  great 
many  people  happy  with  our  riches.  But 
it  is  a  great  deal  better  to  be  poor  than 
to  be  rich,  unless  we  do  good  with  our 
money,  and  serve  God  with  it." 

"  Why,  mother  ?  " 

"  Because  God  will  be  grieved  and  an 


84  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

gry  if  we  do  not  love  and  serve  him,  and 
he  will  be  much  more  displeased  with  us 
if  we  spend  all  his  money,  which  he  al- 
lows us  to  use,  on  ourselves,  and  only  for 
our  own  comfort  and  pleasure." 
"  Will  he  take  it  away  from  us?  " 
"  Perhaps  he  will ;  or  he  may  take  away 
our  health,  and  then  we  cannot  enjoy  it ; 
or  he  may  send  so  many  cares  and  trou- 
bles with  it  that  it  will  do  us  no  good. 
Great  riches  are  no  comfort  unless  the 
blessing  of  God  comes  with  them,  and 
he  does  not  give  large  blessings  to  those 
who  are  selfish." 

"  Are  you  willing  to  be  poor,  mother? " 

"Yes,  if  the  Lord  pleases.     He  knows 

best.     If  he  will  love  me  and  give  me  his 

Spirit,  I  can  do  without  riches.     The  best 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  85 

and  happiest  way  is  to  leave  it  all  to 
him." 

"  Mother,  please  ask  him  to  give  me 
his  blessing,  and  I  will  not  wish  to  be 
rich." 

"  I  earnestly  hope  the  blessing  of  God 
may  always  rest  upon  my  precious  child, 
whether  he  is  rich  or  poor." 

"  How  should  I  learn  to  use  my  money 
so  as  to  please  God  if  he  should  let  me 
be  rich?" 

"  You  must  begin  when  you  are  a  lit- 
tle boy.  If  you  have  a  penny,  do  not 
spend  it  for  candy,  or  cake,  but  put  it  by 
and  keep  it  for  some  useful  purpose,  or 
for  some  good  end." 

"  But,  mother,  a  penny  will  not  do 
much." 


86  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

"A  penny  will  buy  bread  enough  to 
keep  a  hungry  child  from  starving,  or  a 
book  which  will  tell  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
save  a  soul." 

"Must  we  give  away  all  our  money, 
mother  ?  " 

"  No,  my  son.  The  first  thing  for  a 
man  to  do  with  money  is  to  provide  for 
his  own  family.  God  would  not  be 
pleased  with  him  if  he  should  let  his  wife 
and  children  suffer  from  want,  even  if  he 
gave  away  a  great  deal.  Neither  would 
he  be  pleased  with  a  little  boy  who  would 
not  give  a  penny  to  his  hungry  sister, 
though  he  spend  it  to  buy  a  book  for  some 
other  ignorant  child.  But  when  our  own 
families  are  provided  with  comforts,  then 
we  must  do  for  others.  We  must  not 
spend  all  our  money  for  ourselves." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  87 

"Mother,  I  have  got  six  bright  pen- 
nies. Do  they 'belong  to  God?  " 

"  Yes,  my  son ;  but  he  allows  you  to 
use  them."' 

"  What  shall  I  do  with  them  ?  I  mean 
so  as  to  please  him  ?  " 

"  You  are  a  happy  little  boy,  and  have 
a  great  many  comforts.  You  have  nice 
clothes,  and  a  good  home,  and  plenty 
of  food  —  books  enough  —  playthings 
enough.  Your  little  sisters  have  all  they 
want.  You  do  not  need  to  spend  the 
pennies  for  yourself  or  them.  I  think, 
if  you  wish  to  please  God  with  them,  you 
will  spend  them  for  somebody  that  is  not 
as  happy  as  you  are." 

"There  is  a  pleasant  little  girl  who 
goes  to  our  school,  but  she  has  no  spelling 


88  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH. 

book,  and  her  mother  is  too  poor  to  buy 
her  one.  She  has  got  six  pennies  that 
some  kind  person  gave  her  for  doing  an 
errand.  If  I  give  her  my  six,  she  will 
have  enough  to  buy  the  spelling  book.  I 
think  that  will  be  a  right  thing  to  do  — 
don't  you,  mother  ?  " 

"Yes,  my  dear  boy.  The  Lord  will 
surely  smile  on  such  a  way  of  spending 
money." 

"  Let  me  make  haste  and  go  to  school, 
mother,  so  that  I  may  give  them  to  her 
before  the  teacher  comes.  How  bright 
her  eyes  will  look,  and  how  I  shall  love 
to  see  her  reading  in  the  new  spelling 
book !  I  will  go  with  her  and  buy  it ; 
and,  mother,  will  you  cover  it  as  you  did 
mine,  so  that  it  shall  not  be  soiled  ?  " 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  89 

"  Yes;  bring  it  when  you  come  home." 
"  I  think  it  is  a  good  thing  to  spend 
money  so  as  to  please  God  and  not  our- 
selves, for  I  did  not  feel  half  so  happy 

when  I  went  last  year  to  Mr.  B 's, 

and  bought  so  much   candy  with  the 
money  grandpa  gave  me." 

"  Striving  to  please  God  always  makes 
us  happy  ;  pleasing  ourselves  often 
brings  only  unhappiness." 


90  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 


- 

DELIGHT  THYSELF  ALSO  IN  THE  LORD,  AND  HE  SHALL 
GIVE   THEE   THE   DESIRES   OF  THINE   HEART. 

Psalm  xxxvii.  4. 

REJOICE  IN  THE  LORD,  YE  RIGHTEOUS.     Psalm  xcvii.  12. 


must  we  delight  and  rejoice  in 
the  Lord?" 

"  Because  there  always  is  a  God,  and 
we  can  always  speak  to  him,  and  he  will 
always  hear  us  ;  we  can  always  trust  in 
him,  and  he  will  always  take  care  of  us. 

"We  have  a  great  many  friends  whom 
we  love,  and  who  make  us  happy  when 
they  are  with  us.  But  sometimes  they 
are  away  ;  and  sometimes  they  die  and 
leave  us  ;  and  sometimes  they  grow  un- 
kind and  forget  us,  or  do  not  love  us  as 


Delight  thyself  also  in  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  give  theo 
the  desires  of  thy  heart. 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  93 

well  as  they  once  did.  Then  we  are  sad 
instead  of  glad,  and  we  cannot  rejoice  in 
them. 

"  There  are  a  great  many  things  that 
give  us  pleasure.  We  love  to  see  the 
sunshine,  and  hear  the  song  of  the  birds, 
and  our  hearts  beat  with  joy  —  we  bound 
along  with  delight.  But  dark  days  come 
when  the  sun  does  not  shine,  and  we  see 
nothing  but  clouds,  and  winter  hushes 
the  notes  of  the  birds.  Then  we  feel  un- 
happy, and  there  is  a  gloom  over  all 
things. 

"  Our  books  and  our  work  sometimes 

give    us   pleasure.      They    occupy    our 

,  thoughts,  and  we  are  glad  when  we  have 

been    industrious    and    studious.       But 

sometimes  we  are  sick,  and  can  neither 


94  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

work  nor  read.  There  is  nothing  earthly 
in  which  we  can  always  be  glad,  because 
all  earthly  things  may  leave  and  disap- 
point us. 

"But  God,  our  heavenly  Father,  never 
leaves  us.  We  can  always  rejoice  in  him. 
If  our  friends  forsake  us,  and  our  hearts 
are  sad,  we  can  still  be  glad  in  the  Lord. 
If  the  sunshine  has  fled,  and  dark, 
gloomy  clouds  are  over  our  heads,  they 
cannot  hide  our  God  from  us.  He  still 
shines  upon  our  souls,  and  we  can  delight 
ourselves  in  him.  If  we  are  sick,  and 
can  do  nothing  but  lie  upon  the  bed,  and 
if  we  suffer,  still  we  do  not  lose  our  best 
Friend.  He  can  comfort  those  who  are 

4 

in  distress.  No  sickness  can  prevent 
our  being  glad  that  we  have  such  a 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  95 


Father.     It  will  only  make  us  love  him 


more." 


"  What  good  will  it  do  us  to  delight  in 
the  Lord  ?  " 

"  David  says  that  if  we  do,  he  will  give 
us  the  desires  of  our  hearts." 

"  0,  how  delightful  it  would  be  to  have 
all  our  wishes  gratified !  But  is  that  a 
true  promise  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  all  the  promises  of  God's  word 


are  sure." 


"  Do  you  really  believe  God  ever  gave 
any  body  all  their  hearts  desired  ?  " 

"  Certainly  I  do ;  but  he  does  not  do 
this  for  every  body  —  only  for  those  who 
love  him  and  delight  in  him.  And  he 
can  well  grant  them  their  desires,  for  they 
will  ask  for  nothing  wrong.  If  a  little 


96  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

girl  loves  her  mother,  she  will  not  wish 
for  any  thing  which  her  mother  would 
not  think  it  best  to  give  her,  nor  wish  to 
do  any  thing  which  would  displease  or 
grieve  her.  And  if  a  child  loves  God,  he 
will  only  pray  for  such  things  as  it  will 
please  him  to  bestow." 

"What  shall  we  ask  God  for  if  we  love 
him?  What  desires  will  be  in  our 
hearts?" 

"If  we  delight  in  the  Lord,  we  shall 
wish  most  of  all  to  grow  like  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  we  shall  ask  him  to 
teach  and  help  us.  Then  we  shall  ear- 
nestly desire  that  all  our  friends  may  love 
God,  and  we  shall  pray  for  that.  We 
shall  wish  to  be  prepared  for  heaven, 
and  to  do  all  we  can  to  prepare  others  for 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  97 

heaven.  And  all  these  things  God  will 
give  us  if  we  love  and  delight  in  him. 
We  shall  not  wish  for  riches,  nor  fine 
clothes,  nor  for  any  thing  that  is  only 
good  for  this  world,  if  we  delight  in  the 
Lord.  We  shall  be  willing  he  should  give 
us  these  or  not,  as  he  pleases.  But  we 
shall  desire  to  be  like  him,  and  to  please 
him,  and  to  live  with  him  in  heaven ; 
and  these  blessings  he  will  surely  bestow 
on  his  loving  children." 


98  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 


WAIT  ON  THE  LORD  AND  KEEP  HIS  WAY. 

"  MOTHER,  why  were  you  so  displeased 
with  Sally  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Because  she  did  not  conie  when  I 
called  her,  but  kept  me  waiting  a  long 
time." 

"  What  was  she  doing  ?  " 

"  She  was  about  some  work  of  her  own, 
and  she  did  not  come  till  she  had  finished 
it." 

"  Why  must  Sally  always  leave  her  own 
work  to  do  yours,  mother,  and  always 
come  when  you  call  her  ?  " 

"  Because  she  is  my  servant,  and  lives 
with  me  to  do  my  work.  When  she  first 
came  here,  she  promised  to  work  for  me, 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  99 

and  do  just  what  I  wished,  and  I  prom- 
ised to  pay  her  so  much  money  every 
week  for  waiting  upon  me." 

"Must  all  servants  wait  upon  their 
masters  and  mistresses  ?  " 

"  Yes,  as  long  as  they  live  with  them. 
If  they  do  right  they  will  always  come 
when  they  are  called,  and  do  what  they 
are  bidden." 

"  I  am  glad  I  am  not  a  servant.  I 
don't  like  to  be  called  away  from  what  I 
am  doing.  I  am  afraid  I  should  do  as 
Sally  does." 

"  That  would  be  showing  a  very  wrong 
spirit.  Whether  you  are  a  servant  or  not, 
you  should  always  be  willing  to  leave  any 
work  or  play  to  do  what  you  are  request- 
ed. Little  children  especially  must  al- 


100  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

ways  come  when  called.  No  matter  how 
pleasantly  you  are  playing,  or  how  busy 
you  may  be,  you  should  run  as  soon  as 
you  hear  your  father  speak  to  you,  and 
be  always  ready  to  wait  upon  him." 

"  But  father  does  not  pay  me  any 
money  for  doing  all  his  messages  and 
errands." 

"No;  but  he  gives  you  your  clothes, 
and  provides  for  all  your  wants.  He  is 
your  father,  also,  and  God  has  command- 
ed you  to  obey  him." 

"  When  I  am  grown,  shall  I  have  any 
body  to  wait  upon  and  leave  my  work 
for  ?  Ladies  and  gentlemen  are  not  ser- 
vants to  any  body,  are  they,  mother?" 

"Yes,  my  dear,  we  are  all  servants  of 
God,  and  the  Bible  says  we  must  all  wait 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  101 

upon  him.  When  you  are  grown,  as  well 
as  now,  you  must  be  ready  to  leave  your 
work  and  pleasure  to  serve  him." 

"  What  must  we  do  for  God,  mother  ?  " 
"The  Bible  says  whatever  we  do  must 
be  done  for  his  glory.  That  means,  we 
must  do  all  we  do  in  such  a  way  as  to 
please  him.  A  servant  must  do  all  her 
work  so  as  to  please  her  mistress.  That 
is  what  she  is  paid  for  doing.  But  that 
is  not  all.  She  must  be  ready  always  to 
leave  any  work  she  is  doing,  at  any  time, 
to  do  whatever  the  mistress  needs  more. 
So  we  must,  every  day,  and  all  day,  be 
striving  to  please  God  in  all  we  do,  and 
we  must  also  be  ready  to  leave  the  things 
we  like  to  do  best  if  he  calls  us." 

"  Tell  me  when  he  does  call  us,  mother, 
please." 


102  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

"  He  calls  us  to  read  our  Bibles  and 
pray  every  morning.  We  must  dress 
ourselves  neatly  —  we  must  eat  our 
breakfasts  —  we  must  learn  our  lessons 
—  we  must  do  our  work.  But  if  we  do 
all  these,  and  do  them  well,  and  if  we 
have  a  kind  and  loving  spirit  all  day, 
still  we  cannot  please  God  if  we  neglect 
his  word,  and  do  not  pray  to  him.  If 
we  listen,  we  can  hear  him  calling  us 
every  morning  to  do  this,  and  we  should 
leave  every  thing  else  for  it.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  do  a  great  many  things,  but 
nothing  is  so  important  as  to  '  wait 
upon  the  Lord,  and  keep  his  way.' 
Sally  was  busy  when  I  called  her  this 
morning.  She  heard  me  speak  several 
times,  but  she  did  not  come.  She  did 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  103 

not  do  right.  So  little  children  and 
grown  people  are  not  doing  right  if  they 
keep  on  doing  other  work  when  the  Lord 
calls  them  to  prayer.  They  should  leave 
those  things  which  they  think  pleasant- 
est  and  most  important,  and  obey  his 
voice ;  then  they  can  return  to  their  own 
work  with  his  blessing  upon  them. 

"God  calls  us  to  keep  the  Sabbath 
holy,  and  when  Sabbath  comes  we  should 
be  always  ready  to  do  as  he  has  bidden 
us.  No  matter  how  much  little  girls  like 
to  play  with  their  baby  houses  and  toys, 
they  must  put  them  neatly  aside  on  Sat- 
urday, so  as  to  be  ready  to  keep  the  Sab- 
bath, because  God  has  said  so.  Every 
body  must  leave  their  own  work  to  do 
his  on  that  day.  The  icemen  must  leave 


104  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

getting  in  their  ice,  and  the  haymakers 
their  hay,  and  nobody  must  be  found 
pleasing  themselves.  They  must  all  wait 
on  the  Lord  when  the  Sabbath  comes. 

"  Sometimes  "God  calls  us  to  do  things 
very  different  from  those  which  we  plan 
and  wish  to  do.  Little  Susan  has  the 
promise  of  going  to  see  Emily  on  Satur- 
day, and  she  is  very  happy  in  thinking 
of  it.  But  when  Saturday  comes  it  rains, 
and  she  cannot  go.  God  makes  it  rain, 
and  so  he  says  to  Susan,  'You  want  to 
go  and  see  Emily,  but  I  wish  you  to  stay 
at  home.'  Susan  must  not  grumble  and 
fret,  but  'wait'  cheerfully  'on  the  Lord.' 

"  Susan's  mother  has  a  large  family  and 
a  great  deal  of  sewing  and  other  work  to 
do  for  them.  She  is  a  good  mother,  and 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  105 

provides  for  all  their  wants,  and  teaches 
them  to  serve  the  Lord,  and  he  is  pleased 
that  she  takes  such  good  care  of  them. 
He  gave  her  these  children  that  she  might 
take  care  of  them ;  but  sometimes  he  calls 
her  to  do  something  else  for  him.  Once 
when  she  had  a  great  deal  of  work  cut 
out,  and  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  it 
done,  and  was  very  anxious  not  to  be 
hindered,  the  Lord  sent  a  long  sickness 
upon  her,  and  her  work  basket  had  to  be 
put  away,  and  she  had  to  lie  in  bed,  and 
do  no  work  at  all  but  wait  on  the  Lord, 
while  he  taught  her  to  please  him,  and 
not  herself." 

"  Mother,  why  must  it  be  so  ?  " 
"  Because  God  our  heavenly  Father  is 
a  great  deal  wiser  than  we  are,  and  knows 


106  SABBATH   TALKS   WITH 

better  than  we  can  what  is  good  for  us. 
He  is  trying  to  prepare  us  for  heaven, 
and  very  often  we  are  so  interested  in 
our  play  or  our  work,  that  we  forget  all 
about  heaven.  Then  he  calls  us  to  pray, 
and  to  keep  the  Sabbath,  or  to  be  sick, 
or  to  give  up  some  pleasure,  or  in  some 
other  way  he  makes  us  remember  that 
this  world  is  not  our  home,  and  that  we 
shall  never  be  ready  to  go  home,  if  we 
take  no  time  and  no  pains  in  preparing. 
It  is  a  very  good  thing  that  we  have  a 
kind  heavenly  Father,  who  will  not  let  us 
always  please  ourselves.  If  little  Mary 
had  no  father  and  mother  to  teach  her  what 
is  right,  she  would  grow  up  a  dunce,  and 
have  a  great  many  bad  habits,  and  never 
be  fit  to  have  a  house  and  family  of  her 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  107 

own.  I  have  seen  little  girls  pout  and  fret 
when  their  mothers  corrected  them,  and 
look  as  if  they  almost  wished  they  had 
no  mother  to  please.  And  not  long  since 
I  heard  a  little  girl  wishing  there  was  no 
God,  because  then  she  should  never  dis- 
please him.  But  if  there  was  no  God, 
we  should  never  reach  our  heavenly 
home,  nor  be  fit  for  its  joys.  There  would 
be  nobody  to  help  us  cure  our  faults  — 
nobody  to  call  us  to  remember  the  things 
beyond  this  world  —  nobody  to  forgive  us 
and  comfort  us  when  we  were  sorry  — 
nobody  to  put  better  thoughts  in  our 
hearts,  and  to  love  us  more  than  all  other 
friends.  0,  we  should  be  very  lonely  if 
there  was  no  God.  It  makes  the  tears 
come  to  think  such  a  thought.  How 


108  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

could  I  be  happy  without  my  heavenly 
Father  and  blessed  Redeemer  ?  I  could 
be  neither  happy  nor  good.  How  sad  I 
should  be,  if,  when  the  angels  carried  me 
up  the  shining  way  and  through  the 
pearly  gate,  I  should  not  find  him  ! 

'  Were  I  in  heaven  without  my  God, 
'Twould  be  no  joy  to  me.' 

I  am  very,  very  glad  there  is  a  God,  and 
that  he  knows  all  my  faults.  I  am  glad 
that  he  hates  sin.  I  am  glad  I  have  to 
wait  on  him,  and  cannot  please  myself; 
for  now  I  know  that  he  will  cure  me  of 
sin.  He  will  not  leave  a  single  wrong 
thing  in  my  heart.  He  will  not  spare 
for  my  crying,  but  will  take  from  me  all 
hurtful  pleasures.  He  will  teach  me  pa- 


LITTLE    CHILDKEN.  109 

tience,  and  submission,  and  humility,  and 
meekness.  He  will  pity  me,  and  love 
me,  and  encourage  me.  He  will  try  a 
great  many  ways  to  do  me  good,  and  never 
leave  me,  if  I  will  only  wait  on  him." 

"Mother,  when  you  first  talked  about 
this,  I  did  not  like  to  think  of  it ;  but  now 
it  seems  pleasanter  to  me.  I  wish  I  could 
always  be  willing  to  give  up  my  own  way ; 
but  sometimes  it  seems  very  hard." 

"  Do  you  remember  how  bad  little  John- 
nie felt,  and  how  he  cried  when  he  was 
weaned  ?  " 

"0,  yes,  and  I  cried  too.  It  was 
dreadful  to  see  him  so  hungry,  and  noth- 
ing that  he  liked  to  eat.*  And  then  he 
did  not  know  how  to  drink,  and  I  think 
it  was  too  bad  for  such  a  little  baby." 


110  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

"If  he  could  have  spoken,  what  do  you 
think  he  would  have  said  ?  " 

"He  would  have  said  you  were  a  cruel 
mother,  and  that  you  did  not  love 
him." 

"But  Johnnie  must  learn  to  eat  and 
drink,  or  he  could  never  be  a  man.  He 
could  not  always  take  his  food  from  his 
mother;  and  when  we  reach  heaven  we 
may  find  that  some  of  the  things  which 
we  wanted  very  much  here,  and  for  which 
we  shed  a  great  many  tears,  would  have 
been  as  foolish  for  us,  and  as  unfit,  as 
nursing  would  be  to  a  grown  man." 

"Mother,  I  will  try  to  believe  that  God 
knows  best,  and  that  he  loves  us  when 
he  makes  us  wait  on  him,  and  not  please 
ourselves." 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  Ill 

"It  is  the   only  way  of  peace,   my 
child." 

'  In  heaven,  and  earth,  and  air,  and  seas, 
He  executes  his  firm  decrees  ; 
And  by  his  saints  it  stands  confessed 
That  what  he  does  is  always  best.' " 


112  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 


WHETHER  YE  EAT  OR  DRINK,  OR  WHATSOEVER  YE  DO, 
DO  ALL  TO  THE  GLORY  OF  GOD. 

"  MOTHEK,  do  you  think  our  heavenly 
Father  cares  what  we  eat  and  drink  ?  " 

"  I  will  answer  your  question  by  and 
by.  Did  you  see  Peter  Collins  when  we 
were  walking  to  aunt  Sarah's  last 
week?" 

"  Yes,  mother,  I  saw  him,  and  I  was 
afraid  of  him,  for  he  went  from  one  side 
to  the  other,  and  seemed  as  if  he  would 
fall  down.  He  was  talking  to  himself 
all  the  way,  and  I  don't  think  he  knew 
what  he  said,  nor  where  he  was  going. 
What  was  the  matter  with  him  ?  " 

"  He  was  intoxicated.     He  had  been 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  113 

drinking  brandy  or  rum,  and  it  made 
him  crazy." 

"  Is  it  wicked  to  drink  brandy  ?  " 
"  If  you  had  gone  home  with  Peter  that 
night,  you  would  probably  have  heard 
him  swear  at  his  wife,  and  seen  him  beat 
the  poor  little  baby  because  it  cried,  and 
make  every  body  around  him  wretched ; 
and  yet  he  would  not  know  what  he  said 
or  did.  Do  you  not  think  it  wicked  to 
drink  any  thing  which  will  make  us  crazy 
or  unkind  ?  " 

"  0,  how  dreadful !  I  can  hardly  be- 
lieve Peter  would  do  so,  for  I  have  seen 
him  hold  that  little  baby  many  a  time  in 
his  arms,  and  talk  to  it,  and  kiss  it,  and 
I  believe  he  loves  it  dearly ;  and  he  al- 
ways seems  kind  to  his  wife,  too." 

8 


114  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

"  Yes,  Peter  is  very  kind  when  he  has 
not  been  drinking  brandy,  or  some  other 
kind  of  liquor ;  and  he  would  always  be 
so  if  he  would  not  taste  it.  Do  you  think 
God  is  pleased  with  him  when  he  makes 
himself  so  wicked  ?  " 

"  No,  mother.  I  am  sure  he  must  be 
very  much  displeased." 

"  Then  God  does  care  for  what  we  eat 
and  drink.  He  wishes  us  to  eat  only 
those  things  that  will  nourish  us,  and 
drink  only  those  things  that  refresh  with- 
out harming  us." 

"  But,  mother,  there  are  not  many 
things  that  make  so  much  trouble  as 
brandy." 

"  No,  not  many ;  but  there  is  a  right 
and  a  wrong  about  a  great  many  things 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  115 

that  we  eat  and  drink.  Some  people  eat 
too  much.  They  grow  stupid,  and  are 
not  active  and  useful,  and  happy  and 
kind-hearted.  They  perhaps  do  not 
know  what  is  the  cause;  but  if  they 
would  consider,  they  would  find*  that  they 
ought  to  eat  less.  They  destroy  their 
usefulness ;  and  we  can  only  glorify  God 
when  we  are  useful. 

"  Some  people  do  not  eat  enough. 
They  do  not  feel  hungry,  and  they  see 
no  need  of  eating.  But  people  that  do 
not  eat  cannot  work.  They  soon  begin 
to  pine,  and  grow  languid,  and  sick,  and 
useless.  It  would  more  glorify  God  if 
they  would  eat  to  please  him,  so  that  they 
might  gain  strength  for  his  service. 

"  Sometimes    people    eat    irregularly. 


116  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

They  do  not  wait  till  dinner,  or  tea  time, 
but  eat  between.  This  injures  them. 
And  often  they  eat  food  that  is  not  health- 
ful ;  and  when  they  do,  that  injures  them. 
We  do  not  know  how  many  bad  feelings 
and  ugly  tempers  are  caused  by  what  we 
eat ;  and  these  tempers  are  displeasing  to 
God." 

"How  can  we  know,  mother,  what  we 
may  eat  and  drink  ?  " 

"When  we  are  children,  we  can  obey 
our  fathers  and  mothers,  or  other  kind 
friends.  When  little  children  fret  for 
candies  or  sweetmeats,  and  for  things 
which  their  parents  know  are  not  good 
for  them,  they  displease  God.  They 
should  be  willing  to  do  just  as  they  are 
told,  and  very  glad  that  they  are  not 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  117 

allowed  to  eat  what  will  hurt  them,  and 
make  them  unhappy." 

"But  when  we  grow  up,  we  can  eat  and 
drink  just  what  we  please  —  can't  we, 
mother  ?  " 

"  "When  you  are  grown,  you  will  not  ask 
your  parents  what  you  may  eat,  but  you 
will  have  to  think  for  yourself  what  is 
right,  and  do  it,  even  if  you  would  prefer 
to  do  something  else." 

"Mother,  when  I  am  a  lady,  and  see  a 
piece  of  pie  that  I  want  very  much,  must 
I  not  eat  it  ?  " 

"Suppose  you  had  found  that  every 
time  you  ate  a  piece  of  pie  you  had  a 
headache,  and  could  not  read,  or  write, 
or  work  with  any  comfort,  and  that  the 
headache  made  you  fretful  and  unhappy, 


118  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

and  troubled  all  who  saw  you;  do  you 
think  it  would  be  right  to  eat  it?  God 
made  us  all  to  be  useful  and  happy,  and 
to  make  others  happy ;  and  it  is  wrong  to 
do  any  thing  which  will  prevent  us  from 
doing  his  will." 

"But,  mother,  can  we  always  know 
what  will  hurt  us,  and  what  will  not?  " 

11 We  can  know  a  great  deal  if  we 
think  about  such  things,  and  really  try 
always  to  do  right,  and  not  to  please 
ourselves.  "We  know  that  cold  water  is 
a  refreshing  drink,  and  will  not  harm  us, 
and  we  know  that  brandy  may  injure  us. 
It  is  safe  and  right  to-  drink  the  water. 
We  know  that  simple  food  is  healthful, 
and  it  is  safe  and  right  to  take  it.  As 
we  grow  up,  we  can  generally  learn  what 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  119 

is  best  for  ourselves,  and  if  we  wish  to 
glorify  God,  we  shall  always  do  what  we 
know  to  be  right." 

"Do  persons  always  grow  sick  when 
they  eat  what  is  not  good  for  them  ?  " 

" No,  not  always;  sometimes  they  only 
grow  ill-tempered  and  impatient,  or  un- 
happy and  restless.  Sometimes  they  are 
made  indolent,  and  sometimes  their  rea- 
son is  disturbed.  They  do  not  glorify 
God  nor  please  him  then.  If  they  had 
eaten  proper  food,  they  would  have  been 
happy,  and  kind,  and  useful." 

"Mrs.  M.  does  not  think  as  you  do, 
mother.  She  lets  Annie  eat  every  thing 
she  pleases,  and  as  often  as  she  wishes." 

"  I  know  a  great  many  persons  do  not 
think  it  of  much  consequence,  and  many 


120  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

more  think  very  little  on  such  subjects 
at  all.  But  they  forget  that  the  Bible 
bids  us  glorify  God  in  our  eating  and 
drinking.  You  are  too  young  to  under- 
stand now  all  I  could  tell  you ;  but  when 
you  are  older,  you  will  read  of  the  laws 
which  govern  our  natural  life,  and  then 
you  will  see  that  those  must  always  suf- 
fer who  do  not  obey  the  rules  which  our 
heavenly  Father  has  laid  down  for  us. 
I  hope  you  will  remember  what  I  have 
told  you.  We  must  take  care  of  our 
health  because  it  is  his  gift,  and  we  can- 
not be  so  useful  without  it.  We  must  take 
care  of  all  he  has  given  us.  '  Whether 
ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God.' " 


Day  after  day,  and  night  after  night,  little  Freddy's  mother 
has  held  him  on  her  lap. 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  123 


LOVE  SUFFERETH  LONG,  AND  IS  KIND.    1  Cor.  xiii. 

DAY  after  day,  and  night  after  night, 
eleven  days  arid  nights,  little  Freddy's 
mother  has  held  him  on  her  lap.  She 
has  not  undressed  herself  and  gone  to 
rest  in  bed.  She  has  not  left  the  room 
except  for  a  few  moments  at  a  time.  She 
looks  very,  very  tired.  Little  Freddy  is 
sick.  Poor  baby !  he  lies  very  still  on 
his  mother's  lap.  He  does  not  open  his 
bright  eyes  and  laugh  as  he  used  to  when 
Alice  comes  into  the  room.  He  does  not 
creep  about  the  floor,  and  under  the  bed, 
playing  hide  and  seek.  He  moans  and 
cries,  a  little,  faint  cry,  and  suffers  sadly. 
His  mother  looks  at  him,  and  the  tears 


124  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

come  in  her  eyes.  She  is  afraid  he  will 
die  and  leave  her  alone.  She  stoops 
down  and  kisses  his  pale  cheek.  She 
takes  a  soft  handkerchief,  and  dips  it 
in  cool  water,  and  bathes  his  forehead. 
Sometimes  she  puts  a  little  pillow  under 
his  head,  and  holds  him  on  it  until  her 
arm  aches.  Sometimes  she  lays  him  up 
over  her  shoulder  and  rocks  him  gently. 
Sometimes  she  puts  him  in  his  cradle  a 
few  minutes.  Often  she  walks  with  him 
in  her  arms  across  the  room,  back  and 
forth,  back  and  forth,  very  patiently, 
singing  a  low  song.  She  hardly  eats 
any  food.  She  does  not  go  out  to  ride. 
She  neither  sews  nor  reads.  She  does 
nothing  but  take  care  of  her  precious 
baby.  She  is  very  tired  —  almost  sick ; 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  125 

but  she  does  not  think  of  that.  She 
loves  little  Freddy  better  than  she  loves 
herself.  "  Love  suffereth  long  and  is  kind" 

John's  father  sits  at  evening  by  the 
fire,  with  a  letter  in  his  hand.  It  is  from 
the  school  teacher,  asking  him  to  take 
John  away  from  school  and  keep  him  at 
home.  The  teacher  says  he  is  a  bad  boy. 
He  is  disobedient  and  troublesome.  He 
will  not  study  himself,  and  he  tries  to 
hinder  the  other  boys.  He  whispers,  and 
laughs,  and  will  not  do  as  he  is  told. 
That  is  a  sad  letter  for  a  father  to  read. 
He  is  troubled.  He  hardly  knows  what 
to  do.  John  has  given  his  father  a  great 
deal  of  unhappiness.  The  next  morning 
he  calls  him  to  his  study  and  talks  with 


126  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

him.  He  tells  him  how  grieved  he  is  at 
his  bad  conduct.  He  reminds*  him  how 
often  he  has  been  punished,  and  how 
often  he  has  been  kindly  warned,  and  all 
in  vain.  John  sees  that  his  father  is 
unhappy,  but  he  does  not  care.  He  is 
taken  away  from  that  school  and  sent 
to  another,  but  he  does  not  grow  good. 
Every  day  he  does  some  naughty  thing. 
Sometimes  his  father  talks  to  him.  Some- 
times he  has  to  punish  him.  Often  he 
mourns  sadly  over  him.  Often,  if  you 
could  see  him  in  the  dark  night,  after 
every  body  else  is  in  bed,  you  would  see 
him  praying  for  his  son.  But  he  does 
not  get  out  of  patience  with  him.  He 
does  not  send  him  away  from  home,  and 
tell  him  never  to  come  back.  He  buys 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  127 

him  books,  and  birds,  and  tools,  and  rab- 
bits, hoping  to  win  him  to  better  ways. 
Not  long  since  he  gave  him  a  new  sled, 
because  for  one  day  he  had  not  been  dis- 
obedient. John's  father  will  never  stop 
trying  to  make  him  a  good  boy,  although 
he  does  give  him  so  much  trouble,  for  he 
loves  his  son.  "  Love  suffereth  long  and  is 
kind" 

In  a  poor-looking  cellar,  where  the 
pleasant  sun  never  shines  —  no  carpet  on 
the  floor,  no  chairs  to  sit  in,  hardly  any 
fire  in  the  dismal-looking  stove  —  Ellen 
sits  on  a  stool,  sewing  very  fast,  and 
looking  very  pale.  It  is  almost  night. 
She  hears  a  step  and  grows  paler  still. 
Some  one  opens  the  door  and  comes  reel- 


128  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

ing  into  the  room.  It  is  her  father.  *She 
goes  to  meet  him  and  help  him  to  a  seat, 
for  he  seems  not  able  to  walk.  He  will 
not  be  helped.  He  speaks  very  unkind 
words  to  her,  and  when  she  comes  nearer 
and  begs  to  take  hold  of  his  hand,  he 
strikes  her,  and  then  he  falls  flat  upon 
the  floor.  Ellen's  father  drinks  rum,  and 
it  makes  him  crazy,  so  that  he  does  not 
know  what  he  is  doing.  Once  he  loved 
Ellen,  when  she  was  a  little  baby,  and 
used  to  hold  her  in  his  arms  as  your  father 
does  you ;  but  when  men  begin  to  drink 
rum,  it  takes  away  their  love  to  their 
wives  and  children,  and  makes  them  very 
cruel  and  unkind.  Ellen  does  not  speak 
ill  words  to  her  father.  "When  she  finds 
he  cannot  get  up  alone,  she  goes  again  to 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  129 

and  takes  hold  of  his  hand,  and  he 
pulls  himself  up  on  to  a  stool  by  the 
stove.  Then  she  goes  quietly  to  the  closet 
and  brings  out  his  supper.  It  is  all  she 
has  in  the  house.  A  piece  of  dry  bread 
and  a  cold  potato;  no  butter,  no  meat, 
no  tea.  Her  father  spends  all  his  money 
for  drink,  and  very  often  poor  Ellen  is 
nearly  starved.  All  the  food  she  and  her 
father  have  she  buys  with  the  little  mon- 
ey she  earns  by  sewing,  and  he  would  get 
that  away  from  her  if  he  could.  Ellen 
puts  the  bread  and  potato  and  a  mug  of 
water  on  the  table,  and  says,  "  Father, 
your  supper  is  ready."  0,  how  he  talks 
when  he  sits  down  I  He  uses  dreadful  lan- 
guage. He  is  angry  because  there  is  no 
more  to  eat,  although  it  is  his  own  fault. 

9 


130  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

"When  he  has  eaten  his  supper,  he 
to  bed,  and  Ellen  sits  alone  again  at  her 
work.  The  tears  roll  from  her  face.  She 
remembers  better  days  than  these,  when 
she  had  a  kind  father  and  tender,  loving 
mother,  and  a  dear  little  baby  sister,  and 
a  cheerful  home.  Her  mother  died  a  year 
ago,  and  the  sweet  baby  could  not  live 
without  her.  Jesus  pitied  it  and  took  it 
home.  Ellen  was  left  with  her  father, 
and  he  does  not  love  her  now.  But  she 
loves  him,  and  though  he  treats  her  un- 
kindly and  frightens  her,  she  never  answers 
him  unkindly.  She  works  hard  to  get 
food  for  him  and  herself.  She  tries  every 
way  to  make  him  happy.  She  talks  pleas- 
antry to  him  when  he  does  not  come  home 
crazy,  and  sings  little  songs ;  for  Ellen  can 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  131 

SHig  very  sweetly.  Every  day  she  prays 
many  times  for  .him  that  God  will  pity 
and  save  him.  I  think  her  prayers  will 
be  answered.  The  blessed  Saviour  hears, 
and  he  is  very  pitiful.  He  knows  every 
thing  that  occurs.  He  sees  every  tear 
poor  Ellen  sheds.  I  think  he  will  give 
her  father  a  new  heart,  a  kind  and 
loving  heart,  and  make  him  very  sorry 
for  all  his  sins,  and  give  him  strength 
to  resist  temptation,  and  leave  off  drink- 
ing the  fiery  thing  that  does  so  much 
harm. 

Some  kind  ladies  have  tried  to  persuade 
Ellen  to  go  away  from  her  miserable 
home,  and  told  her  they  would  find  her  a 
better  one.  But  she  says,  No.  She  will 
never  leave  her  father.  She  will  always 


132  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

stay  with  him,  and  always  love  him,  Sid 
do  every  thing  for  his  comfort.  "Love 
suffer eth  long,  and  is  kind" 

See  Alice  drawing  her  little  brother 
about  the  floor.  "What  a  bright,  happy 
little  boy  he  is !  Alice  looks  tired.  Well 
she  may.  It  is  no  small  task  to  take  care 
of  little  Johnnie,  and  she  has  had  him  sev- 
eral hours.  He  requires  constant  watching 
and  attention.  She  must  not  forget  him 
a  moment.  Sometimes  he  creeps  to  the 
fender,  and  is  going  to  reach  over  and 
take  up  a  coal  from  the  hearth,  and  Alice 
must  jump  to  save  him  from  being  burned. 
Next  he  has  climbed  into  a  chair,  and 
there  he  stands,  rocking  back  and  forth, 
while  his  black  eyes  twinkle,  and  he 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  133 

crows  with  delight,  not  knowing  how  soon 
he  would  get  a  fall  if  sister  Alice  did  not 
sit  patiently  by,  watching  every  move- 
ment, and  holding  her  hand  behind  him. 
Then  he  tries  to  walk  across  the  room. 
One  wee  foot  totters  after  the  other",  and 
then,  down  he  goes  with  a  buinp,  and 
hurts  his  head  against  the  table,  and 
Alice  must  take  him  in  her  lap,  and  tell 
him  what  the  pussy  says,  or  crow  like  a 
rooster,  or  bark  like  a  dog.  It  is  sup- 
per time  now.  Johnnie  must  have  his 
bread  and  milk.  His  mother  has  not 
come  home,  and  Alice  must  feed  him. 
She  likes  nothing  better.  It  is  a  dear 
little  "birdie"  mouth  that  is  put  up  ev- 
ery time  she  dips  in  the  spoon,  and  she 
kisses  him  almost  as  often.  She  puts 


134  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

him  in  his  wagon  after  supper,  and  draws 
him  about  till  bed  time,  and  then  she 
lays  him  in  his  crib,  and  although  she  is 
very  tired,  she  says  there  never  was 
such  a  precious  little  brother  as  hers  — 
nobody  can  think  how  she  loves  him. 

Years  come  and  go.  Johnnie  is  six 
years  old.  Alice  loves  him  as  well  as 
ever,  and  now  she  is  teaching  him  to  read 
and  spell.  But  Johnnie  does  not  love  to 
learn.  He  likes  a  great  deal  better  to  be 
driving  hoop  or  trundling  his  wheelbar- 
row. He  tries  his  sister's  patience  sadly. 
He  frets  and  cries,  or  he  will  not  sit  still, 
or  he  is  bent  on  catching  a  fly  just  when 
she  thinks  he  has  almost  conquered  the 
hard  word.  Sometimes  she  talks  to  him. 
Sometimes  she  looks  displeased.  Some- 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  135 

times  she  promises  him  a  reward  if  he 
will  be  attentive.  She  tries  all  ways,  and 
is  gentle  and  kind.  She  is  often  afraid 
he  will  grow  up  a  dunce.  If  she  did 
not  love  him  very  much  indeed,  she  would 
give  up  trying  to  teach  him.  But  she 
looks  at  his  bright  face,  and  curly  hair, 
and  dear,  roguish  eyes,  and  folds  her  arms 
around  him,  and  thinks  to  herself  that 
she  will  never,  never  say  it  is  hard  to  do 
any  thing  for  her  darling  brother.  And 
so  she  works  on,  day  after  day,  and  does 
not  grow  weary. 

Tears  come  and  go  again,  and  Johnnie 
is  twelve  years  old.  Alice  has  done  a 
great  deal  for  him.  She  has  been  his 
patient  teacher  six  years.  Words  can 
never  tell  all  the  tender  thoughts,  and 


136  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

loving  actions,  and  kind  care  which  she 
has  bestowed  upon  him.  Thanks  to  her 
perseverance,  he  can  read,  and  spell,  and 
write  very  correctly,  and  has  learned 
many  things  besides.  He  is  a  tall  boy. 
I  see  Alice  talking  to  him.  He  has  just 
come  in  from  school.  He  has  a  cigar  in 
his  mouth,  and  Alice  has  tears  in  her  eyes. 
You  wonder  why  she  feels  bad.  She 
hoped  her  brother  would  never  smoke. 
It  is  a  dirty  habit.  But  that  is  not  all. 
She  knows  what  he  does  not,  that  it  will 
injure  his  health,  and  spoil  his  temper, 
perhaps.  She  knows  it  will  lead  him 
away  from  home,  and  very  likely  into  bad 
company.  She  has  seen  other  boys,  who 
began  by  smoking,  go  on  from  that  to 
worse  habits,  and  become  very  different 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  137 

men  from  those  who  take  to  no  such 
ways  ;  and  she  looks  at  her  dear  brother, 
and  thinks  how  she  has  loved  him,  and 
prayed  for  him,  and  looked  forward  to  his 
being  a  good  man,  and  her  heart  is  sor- 
rowful. She  cannot  bear  to  have  him 
form  the  first  bad  habit. 

But  all  she  says  does  no  good.  John 
learns  to  smoke.  Soon  he  finds  the  com- 
pany of  other  boys  who  smoke  far  pleas- 
anter  than  the  circle  at  home,  and  even- 
ing after  evening  he  wishes  to  go  out. 
If  he  is  not  allowed,  he  grows  peevish 
and  fretful.  The  roses  fade  from  his 
cheeks.  His  eyes  are  not  as  bright  as 
they  used  to  be.  He  is  not  as  happy. 
His  conscience  troubles  him,  and  because 
he  is  doing  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 


138  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

those  around  him,  he  thinks  they  are 
his  enemies,  and  trying  to  make  him  un- 
comfortable. He  is  out  of  temper  with 
himself  and  every  body  else.  He  says 
very  hard  things  to  his  patient,  loving 
sister.  But  Alice  thinks  she  loves  him 
better  than  she  ever  did  before.  Such  a 
pity  is  in  her  heart  for  him,  when  she 
sees  him  listless,  and  languid,  and  un- 
happy, that  she  wishes  she  could  take 
him  in  her  arms,  as  she  did  when  he  was 
a  little  baby,  and  hush  him  to  sleep,  and 
make  him  forget  all  his  troubles.  Some- 
times she  tells  him  that  if  he  will  only 
do  right  he  will  be  as  happy  as  ever ; 
but  that  makes  him  angry.  Sometimes 
she  contrives  a  plan  to  amuse  and  inter- 
est him,  and  keep  him  at  home ;  but  he 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  139 

will  Dot  stay.  He  has  formed  many  bad 
habits  now,  and  he  heeds  not  the  love 
that  would  die  to  save  him.  Never  does 
she  forget  him,  that  patient  sister.  Day 
after  day  she  prays  for  his  good.  She 
lives  for  his  comfort.  Her  fingers  take 
the  stitches  in  his  clothes.  She  cooks 
every  day  the  dishes  he  loves  best,  and 
does  all  in  her  power  to  please  him.  She 
is  afraid  he  will  never  love  her  again. 
He  grows  less  and  less  kind  to  her.  But 
it  makes  no  difference  in  her  heart  toward 
him.  "Love  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind." 

I  know  a  man  who  is  a  farmer.  Every 
year  he  plants  corn,  and  potatoes,  and 
many  other  things  on  his  farm.  He 
works  hard:  He  rises  early,  and  does 


140  SABBATH    TALKS   WITH 

not  stop  working  till  the  sun  goes  down. 
Farmers  must  work  hard.  They  plant, 
and  sow,  and  root  out  weeds,  and  do  all 
they  can  to  make  their  seeds  spring  up 
and  grow.  They  can  do  a  great  deal,  but 
not  all.  They  may  have  the  best  seed 
and  the  choicest  land,  and  do  all  their 
work  in  the  best  manner.  But  corn  and 
potatoes  will  not  grow  without  rain  and 
sunshine,  and  the  farmers  cannot  make 
it  rain.  Only  God  can  do  that.  This 
farmer,  of  whom  I  am  telling  you,  has 
raised  good  crops  a  great  many  years. 
His  barns  have  been  filled  with  hay,  and 
wheat,  and  corn,  and  vegetables.  He 
has  made  plenty  of  butter  and  cheese. 
He  has  had  all  his  heart  could  desire. 
Yet  all  these  years  he  has  never  thanked 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  141 

God  for  rain  and  sunshine.  He  has  never 
been  sorry  for  his  sins.  He  has  not  had 
one  loving  thought  toward  his  almighty 
Friend.  He  is  not  a  good  man.  Yet 
year  after  year  God  blesses  him,  and  is 
never  weary  of  doing  him  good.  "Love 
suffer eth  long,  and  is  kind."  "  He  maketh 
his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good, 
and  sendeth  his  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the 
unjust" 

I  know  another  man,  to  save  whose 
soul,  the  Lord  has  been  doing  many 
things  ever  since  he  was  a  baby.  He 
had  a  good  home  and  pious  parents.  His 
mother  often  talked  with  him  of  the  love 
of  Jesus  and  the  blessed  heavenly  home. 
But  he  was  not  interested.  He  was  early 


142  SABBATH    TALKS    WITH 

taught  to  pray  and  read  his  Bible,  but  he 
soon  forgot  to  do  either.  He  went  to 
Sunday  school,  and  heard  many  sermons, 
but  he  did  not  obey  what  he  was  taught. 
The  Holy  Spirit  has  put  good  thoughts 
in  his  heart,  but  he  has  crowded  them 
out,  or  done  something  to  make  himself 
forget  them.  Conscience  has  whispered 
to  him,  but  he  would  not  listen.  It  seems 
as  if  he  did  not  wish  to  see  heaven.  But 
the  Lord  will  not  leave  him  to  go  the 
downward  road.  He  looks  upon  him  ev- 
ery day.  He  gives  him  many  blessings, 
hoping  for  love  in  return.  Sometimes 
he  sends  sickness  upon  him,  to  teach  him 
submission  and  patience,  and  remind  him 
that  he  is  not  to  live  always  in  this  world. 
Sometimes  he  gives  him  riches,  that  in 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  143 

his  prosperity  he  may  remember  the  Giver. 
Sometimes  he  gives  wings  to  his  riches, 
and  they  fly  away,  that  he  may  learn  to 
lay  up  his  treasures  in  heaven.  Some- 
times he  is  afflicted,  that  he  may  remem- 
ber Jesus,  who  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief — who  had  not 
where  to  lay  his  head,  and  who  willingly 
died  for  him.  God  will  leave  nothing » 
undone  to  persuade  him,  if  possible,  to 
repent  and  be  saved.  Why?  Because 
he  loves  him.  "Love  suffereth  long,  and 
is  kind."  "  The  Lord  is  long-suffering  to 
usward,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish, 
but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance" 


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